Uncharted 3: The Family Man
by Glockenspiel
Summary: Nate is bored out of his mind. Elena has some news. Sully chases a woman and fails. Chloe gets kidnapped. Throw in some AK-47s, immortal warriors, dragon teeth and a bad guy called Phil and we may just have another adventure on our hands! FINISHED
1. Prologue

**NOTE 6/23/10: For some insane reason, Fanfiction have taken out all the dashes that I used to separate sections of my story so now there is just an empty line  
From the moment I realised, I have written chapters using full stops to separate instead, but I don't have time to change the first chapters…but I don't think it makes a difference…you can kinda tell when there's meant to be one…don't be put off reading…yeah…I changed them in this prologue because it made sense...**

…

**Hey hey, my name is Rhea….yeah…like the flightless bird that looks like a small ostrich…you can adopt one at London zoo….for £200…I don't think I'd pay that much for something with my name…my mum thought it was an unusual name..there are over 5 Rhea's in my school…damn**

**This is probably standard but I have to say how much I like Uncharted…it is well good…the tree graphics in the first game were a bit…I dunno…not as good…but in the second one they seemed to have fixed that right up…**

**Mainly it's about Nate trying to get to Elena who is somewhere about to have their child…he just has lots of problems getting there…the usual…  
There's a lot of other stuff going on as well…**

**Chloe's gonna be in there too…there's nothing wrong with her…she may have been more fun but I don't see her feeding Drake soup when he's an old man…Elena would…and plus…I can't see Chloe calming down when she's sixty…and I don't want to know about a randy sixty year old woman being near Nate**

**Well this story starts off a little weirdly... but I think it's ok…just uh be patient…and umm laugh where appropriate and stuff… **

**Even if you're not gonna read the whole thing…thanks for clicking on it…I mean it…**

**Please bear with me-it isn't just about Nate not wanting to be a dad…there will be lots of gunfire, explosions…and monsters that make the whole thing slightly impossible…**

* * *

Prologue

_Some time ago_

_La Paz, Bolivia_

Victor Sullivan knew he had a gift.

Some people wouldn't call it that but Sully was a positive guy.

He had begun to realise something strange was going on when he was fifteen. It had started with his English teacher and then, suddenly, it occurred more frequently. It used to worry him but he had long since come to terms with it.

The bar was crowded and noisy. Sully didn't mind, this was how he liked it. Spanish music floated down from the low ceiling, crackling slightly on ancient speakers. The bar-tender buffed glasses to a crystal shine, the drinks he poured were ice cold, a blessing in the evening heat. Not to mention they were dirt cheap. And as for the bar maids, well, they made eyes at every foreigner who had cash in his pockets and that suited Sully just fine since he was _that_ foreigner with cash in his pockets.

Sully had a good feeling about tonight and was pretty sure he wouldn't be going back to his motel room alone. How wrong he was.

One of the barmaids came up to him with mischievous eyes, giggling as she did so. Sully grinned at her. If Nate was here he would have made some comment about Sully's age and then called him a pervert. Sully was glad he wasn't here this time. Many nights had gone to waste when Nate flatly refused to help him pick up girls.

The barmaid batted her eyelids at him and Sully was just about to suggest something when he felt it. It was the gift, or as he sometimes called it ' a goddamn pain in the ass'. Sure, Sully was a positive guy…mostly.

The feeling, which usually entailed one stomach cramp and three twitches of his big toe, was a sure sign that he should stay away from this woman at all costs. Well, maybe not, but Sully knew what he wanted in life and it definitely wasn't what this woman had.

He stared at the barmaid again. Just to make sure.

The barmaid, called Eva, was unsure about the staring old man and smiled nervously back. It wasn't meant to be like this. She was fairly new here but Maria-the head barmaid-told her if she looked willing she would have no trouble finding in finding some rich man who was easily parted with his money- her mother-Consuela-thought this was immoral but it paid for her younger brother, Pablo, school fees- as for Carlos, her on-off again boyfriend; he had no clue and hopefully it would stay that way till she found a rich American who would marry and take her away from this tired old town. Her, papa, the honourable judge and priest Emilio Rodriguez, may he rest in peace, wouldn't have approved in this 'cavorting' with men, young or old, but she was twenty now, and her own person. Well, that's how she had explained it to Maria who then hired her on the spot.

Sully sighed.

There was no mistaking, the girl was…afflicted.

Sully waved for the bill. He shook his head at the girl, who pouted but then gave up and moved on. Once he had paid, Sully motioned to Maria, who he knew had some senior position in this ramshackle establishment.

Maria gasped and spoke to him in broken English. What? Are you sure? How can you tell?

Sully answered as best as he could and left the bar and made his way back to the motel, alone. Maybe it was about time he visited Nate, that usually cheered him up… or led to some death defying situations which any normal man would've been floored by. Judging on how lonely he felt today though, Sully wouldn't have minded either.

…

After the bar had closed for the night, Maria pondered about what she had been told. The barmaids were wiping down tables and clearing dishes. She called Eva over and had a quiet talk with her.

Eva ran all the way home to tell Carlos to whom she had been ever faithful (she was good at making the easy foreigners drunk enough to think they had a good time with her when, actually, she had just pinched money from their wallets).

Nine months later, the newly married Eva, gave birth to healthy baby boy. The dad, a proud Carlos, had taken over his own father's garage; securing a steady income for his new family and even, let's not forget, Pablo's school tuition fees.

…

If you had a lifestyle like Sully i.e. frequent liaisons with various women, there was a chance that ten years later a boy called Humphrey would knock on your door claiming to be your long lost son, needing food, shelter and lots and lots of money. Ok, maybe not Humphrey…Jack or Ben possibly…maybe even Pierre.

To zero his chances of this ever happening to him. Sully avoided all pregnant women.

How did he know if a woman was expecting?

One stomach cramp and three twitches of his big toe would do it for him because, of course, Sully's gift was to be able to tell when women were pregnant.

* * *

**Ok, that's the prologue…the next chapter has got Elena and Nate …other stuff..not sure yet…it's still in the past…**

**As for Sully's gift..it was a bit random…but I didn't know how else to get to the point…I'm not good at planning…I just make things up as I go along..tis better that way**

**Well ok, thank you very much for reading, tell me what to think, or give me ideas…or something…I dunno…**

**For putting up with this I give you a poem:**

_**There was a man called Maury,  
Who did not review my story,  
Needless to say, his death was quite gory…**_

**Not to pressure you or anything…jokes…I put this in the first story I wrote…so I thought I'd put it in this one too**

**As you can probably tell…I am bad at writing poems…**

**Well, thanks again.**


	2. Jake's Fortune

**Ok, so now onto Elena and Nate and stuff…**

**Nate might be a little weird in this chapter but he's in good form in the next one…**

* * *

Chapter 1

_Several months ago_

The sound of gunfire was deafening.

The chatter of a turret gun echoed in Nathan Drake's ears. The colour faded from his vision and he was all too aware of his heartbeat thudding in his ears. He was hurt badly.

Sully watched from a distance, contemplating the situation that Nate had brought upon himself.

'If you stay there any longer, you're gonna get hammered,' Sully commented. Nate wiped his forehead and reloaded the weapon.

'I'll be fine,' he muttered, more for his own sake than Sully's. Nate blinked hard and crouched in cover. Slowly, the colour returned and the sound of his heartbeat faded.

They were nearly there. He could hear them. It was a group of amateurs. He could tell by the way they twitched at every sound, circling wildly in case someone crept up on them. Not that anyone would. Nate had already seen his friends run in a different direction completely.

This would be his only chance, gripping the grenade tightly, he peered over the low wall, gauging distances.

Seeing an opening, he lobbed the grenade and watched as it arced gracefully towards the group of soldiers.

Then everything went downhill.

The soldiers on seeing their opponent immediately opened fire. It wasn't this that was the problem. Since the soldiers were fairly new at this, their aim was all over the place. No, it wasn't them that was problem at all.

Unbeknownst to Nate, a soldier had stealthily crept up on him and as soon as Nate had turned to return to cover he was confronted by a man wearing a balaclava. He moved so quickly Nate could hardly believe it when he collapsed to floor, blood pooling around him.

Nate could tell this man was a pro, maybe it was the way that the man had struck him in the throat with a knife without thinking, timing it so that he could dodge Nate's attack and then strike again before moving onto his next victim or maybe it was the way his name appeared first on the leader-board.

Nate swore and rapidly pressed the x button till his character respawned.

Sully frowned, 'I don't get this, you die…and then you come back again?'

Nate grunted unresponsively as he was once again taken down by the same person.

'Well goddamn, it happened again,' Sully remarked, chewing on the end of an unlit cigar. Nate threw down the controller. The online death match was over. Rubbing his temples with one hand, he leant back into the sofa.

'Could you just explain what happened here?' Sully asked. Nate gave him a flat look.

'It was pretty obvious, I just got murked by some guy called: [UZB]_demonoverlord_crazy99_satanspawn_1988SupREmeCOmmAnDEr_Luigi.'

The cigar dropped from Sully's open mouth, 'Ya what?'

Nate looked in amusement at Sully's face, 'If you keep your mouth open that wide for any longer a bird is going to come and make a nest in there.'

Sully closed his mouth, young people these days, he thought, were a different species.

'Two things,' Sully began slowly, 'firstly, what does murked mean? And secondly, who the hell is [UZB]_demonoverlord_crazy99_satanspawn_1988SupREmeCOmmAnDEr_Luigi?'

''Murked' means when you get defeated badly by something or someone,' Nate explained and seeing Sully's disbelieving face added, 'British kids say it.'

'How the hell do you know what British kids say?' Sully asked.

Nate laughed, 'Sully, I know classical Spanish and Latin, is it _that_ hard to believe I might know a modern language? Oh, and as for [UZB]_demonlord_crazy99_satanspawn_1988SupREmeCPmmAnDEr_Luigi, he's an online player, and don't ask me. I have no idea why he couldn't have put something normal as his screen name.'

'I'd hardly call British kids' urban speak a modern language,' Elena commented from the dining table. She looked up from her notebook and frowned at television screen. 'Nate, you've been playing that game for five days straight, can't you give it a rest?'

'No, I'm not going to stop playing till I get a platinum,' Nate replied irritably. Sully frowned in confusion.

'Before you ask, by doing certain things in the game you gain trophies-when you get all the trophies you get the platinum trophy,' his friend explained.

'And why do you want a platinum trophy?' Sully dared ask. Nate was quiet for a moment.

'Umm, I don't really know…I just want it,' he answered.

'Right,' Sully said, scratching his head. 'Nate, I hate to say it, but you really need to get out more.'

But Nate wasn't listening, he had already started playing again, this time in story mode.

Sully sighed and sat next to Elena at the table, he had been avoiding her for some time. He could tell, just like that bar maid in La Paz. Sully wondered if she knew.

'Is everything ok between you two?' he asked.

Elena put her pen down and glanced over her shoulder where Nate was playing. When she was sure that Nate wasn't listening she beckoned Sully closer. ' I think he' suffering from withdrawal symptoms,' she whispered.

Sully frowned, 'From what?'

'From adventures.'

Sully scoffed, 'That's hardly a proper condition.'

'You'd be surprised, last week, when we were at the supermarket, I asked Nate to get some washing up gloves that were hanging from the top peg because I couldn't reach…and do you know what he did?'

Sully got the feeling it wasn't going to be simply reaching up to get the item.

'He went to the end of the isle, climbed a stack of toilet paper that was on offer which subsequently fell on some old dear in a mobility scooter, ran across the opposite shelving unit, hung off it and then he jumped to right isle unit and hung on that one!'

'That doesn't sound so bad,' Sully mused, chewing on yet another cigar. Elena shook her head, she wasn't finished.

'Luckily no one was around, they were too busy with the old woman, because then Nate dropped some rope and said, 'Here, you can climb up now.'

Sully raised an eyebrow as Elena added, 'It gets worse.'

'How can it get any worse than that?' Sully asked, incredulous.

'Trust me, it can,' Elena explained, 'instead of reaching over to get the gloves…..he took out a gun and shot them down.'

Sully's mouth dropped wide open and the cigar fell to the floor, 'You have got to be kidding me. Why would he do that? That doesn't sound like Nate.'

Elena suddenly got up and wordlessly and left the room. A few minutes later she returned holding something in her hand.

'Well, goddamn,' Sully said in amazement as Elena held up a pair of rubber gloves with three neat bullet holes in them. 'Didn't anyone hear the gunshots?' he asked.

'Luckily, the old woman lost control of her mobility scooter and drove straight into a display rack, it toppled over and hit another one and that knocked over another one-the sound covered the racket that Nate made.'

'Luckily?' Sully said, unsure about Elena's choice of words. 'Was anyone hurt?'

Elena shook her head. Sully was quiet for a moment, mulling over what he had just been told. It sounded like Nate was bored out of his mind or just slightly crazy. Sully was leaning towards the latter. He turned and looked at his friend. Nate stared unblinkingly at the television screen. If there was one thing that Sully could do it was to get Nate away from that infernal video game.

'Since then, I haven't let him leave the house. Do you think maybe you could talk to him? Drive some sense into him or, better yet, tell me you have some crazy artefact with a code that needs deciphering,' Elena said hopefully.

Sully sighed, ' I haven't come across any of those lately, but I can try talking to him.'

He stood and planted himself between Nate and the television. Nate craned his neck to try and get a better view to no avail.

'Hey Sully, move out the way, you're gonna kill Jake,' he said.

Sully grimaced, 'Who's Jake?'

Nate looked at him as if he were a plank of wood, 'Jake's the main character of the game, he and a photographer, Yelena, are hunting down the Holy Grail and are trying to get there before the evil French man with the Greek henchmen, who wants to use it for his nefarious deeds. And if that wasn't crazy enough the creatures guarding the Grail are bloodsucking rabbit skeletons. I mean, how crazy is that?'

Sully scratched his chin, he thought that German zombies were pretty out there but decided not to say anything. Trying to move the conversation away from bloodsucking rabbit skeletons, Sully tried another tactic. 'Uh, so Nate, what's this game called?'

'Unfathomed: Jake's fortune,' his friend replied.

Sully realised at this moment that if he wanted to save his friend he would have to think of something quickly.

'Elena's pregnant.'

Nate froze.

Elena, who happened to be in the bathroom, missed the whole thing.

--

On returning to the living room, Elena was slightly surprised to see Nate talking to Sully in hushed tones. It had taken her a lot longer than the five minutes Sully had to move Nate from that blasted T.V. She had used coercion, sent him on guilt trips, lured him with the promise of things that weren't entirely PG-13 but it had rarely worked. Elena had been stumped. Whatever they were talking about must have been important.

Elena frowned inwardly. God knew she loved Nate but his behaviour right now was more than a little strange. She needed to find something for him to do with his spare time. Elena was in for the long haul and Nate, well, he didn't seem to be the type or suited for it.

_What the hell are you thinking? Of course he's not long term relationship sort of man,_ Elena thought to herself, _he shot down a pair of rubber gloves!_

_But he went to all that trouble, that was sweet of him, _one part of Elena's mind argued.

_It wasn't that much trouble in the first place, all he had to do was go on tip toes at the most, _the more sensible part of her mind commented. Elena ran a hand through her hair. She was at a loss as to what to do.

It was at this moment Nate turned to her.

She still felt that sudden rush inside her when he looked at her. Like a breath of fresh air, she mused. A missed heart beat here or a slight blush there. Whatever she was confused about, it always seemed so insignificant when he was with her. That was a good thing, at least, Elena thought.

Then she realised how pale he was.

'Is something wrong?' Elena said, secretly hoping that Sully had promised him an excursion that would include some sort of action.

No such luck.

'Elena…are you…are you pregnant?' Nate asked hoarsely.

Elena dropped the banana peel she was holding. She wasn't entirely sure where the peel had come from but if there was ever a time to drop it, it was now. Whatever she was expecting from Nate it certainly wasn't this.

'Elena?'

It struck Elena that she had been motionless for a few minutes and she decided to find out where Nate had gotten such a ridiculous notion. She eyed Sully, who shuffled his feet and stared at the floor like the naughty kid at school. This was his strategy? Elena thought angrily. What was the man thinking? But then again it had worked, to a certain extent.

'No. I am not pregnant, what makes you think that?' Elena assured him and this was the truth. As far as she knew anyway.

'Really?' Nate said, 'but Sully said you were, without a doubt, too.'

'How would Sully know if I was pregnant?' Elena replied. 'It's not like he's a walking pregnancy test.'

Sully decided it was time to butt in, 'Actually…I am.'

Nate and Elena turned to him, similar expressions of incredulity on their faces. Sully wished that he had brought his camera.

'Uh, what did you just say?' Elena said quietly, trying and succeeding to wipe the surprise from her face. Nate on the other hand continued to gape.

'I can tell when women are pregnant, I can't explain it, it just happens,' Sully admitted. Elena raised an eyebrow.

'And how does that work?' she asked sceptically. Nate wasn't an expert on these sorts of things but he had seen an ad on T.V and things were starting to make sense.

'Oh, I know, they pee on you and then some pink lines show up, I saw it on T.V.' he said. Sully stared, Elena couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

'No! Goddamn, Nate, that's disgusting. I just get a stomach cramp and my big toe twitches,' Sully explained.

'That's slightly less interesting,' Nate muttered and then he remembered that his girlfriend might be pregnant.

'Oh my God, I completely forgot, are you, uh, y'know, pregnant?' he asked Elena again. She shook her head and he smiled with relief. 'That's good to know, uh, I don't mind children…from a distance but I don't think I could handle one of my own, that would be _way_ too much and anyways, uh, children always come in numbers. '

Sully winced, he had succeeding in breaking Nate out of his vegetative state but now he had gone and opened a whole other fat can of worms. He wondered how Elena had taken this because she _was_ pregnant and she was going to have to face up to the fact that Nate looked to be an unwilling father.

Elena kept her composure. She was good at this, having had lots of practise throughout their many adventures. If she hadn't been good at this she would have said goodbye to clean pants when the German zombies attacked plus, she wouldn't have been able to stop screaming unless Nate duck-taped her mouth and tape was hard to come by in a German bunker…they only used masking tape…which everyone knew was rubbish at sticking things together.

If there was anything Elena had learnt from this strange conversation was that Nate definitely didn't want children. Her heart sank at this. She had always thought about her career first and then, later, maintaining a lasting relationship with Nate but in the end she guessed she always wanted a family. Didn't every girl? Oh sure, she could give him time, she would always be willing to wait for him but it seemed that he wasn't looking to change his mind or even think about it any time soon.

'This is too weird,' Elena said, massaging her forehead with a hand. She took Sully's arm and dragged him to the kitchen.

'Look, I'm grateful for your help, it looks like he's back to normal but did you really have to go that far? I mean, a stomach cramp and twitching big toes…don't you think that was a bit much?' Elena muttered, keeping her voice low.

Sully could tell that Elena was trying to avoid discussing what Nate had said but there were more important things. 'I'm not joking, Elena, it may sound weird to you but my 'gift' has never let me down. You _are _pregnant and you need to make sure that Nate understands that.'

Sully saw that Elena wasn't buying it, he tried another tactic, 'Wait, remember that girl we met in India, what's her name…that reporter friend of yours?'

'Terri?' Elena replied, confused.

'Yeah, that's the one, you know I said I would try and put the moves on her?'

'You did _what_?' Elena said angrily, 'I don't remember you ever saying that. Sully, that's gross, she' was in my class at college. What were you thinking?'

Sully rubbed his chin thoughtfully and remembered, 'Ohhhhh, I must have told Nate, not you, sorry.'

Elena scowled at him and then at the door. Nate hadn't mentioned anything about this.

'Look, it doesn't matter, that's beside the point. What I'm trying to tell you is that I left her alone after I realised she was pregnant. I sensed it.'

Elena looked puzzled, 'Hold on, are you sure? She didn't mention anything to me.'

'She probably didn't even know herself. How long ago was that? Must be several months by now.'

'About nine months ago,' Elena said. Come to think of it, she hadn't spoken to Terri for that long either. From the front of the house, they heard the letterbox open and close. A few seconds more passed and they heard footsteps approaching.

Nate came in holding a pile of mail. They watched him as he sorted through it. Suddenly he stopped.

'Hey Elena, you got a postcard from your friend, Terri...wow, get this, she just had a baby girl,' Nate said.

Sully gave Elena a knowing wink and joined Nate at the counter.

It took a moment for Elena to process this information. She hoped that this was all a big coincidence.

Somehow, she didn't think so.

* * *

**Ok, yeah…next chapter is…Elena properly tells Nate about her being pregnant and stuff...the main adventure story is revealed here too...**

**Some things to mention: I really don't know why I get trophies…my brother told me to so I do…it is so much more fun to play the game through without stopping every five minutes to pick up a damned treasure……but I'll live  
Also…people's online names…I'm not saying I've seen any that long…but sometimes they are…odd…I guess all the normal ones like Bob and Phil are gone…  
Nate should so have a game called Jake's Fortune…I'd play it…there will be proper action in this story…it isn't all made up…  
If Nate shot down some rubber gloves for me, I would be honoured……I'd frame them and put them on a wall**

**Now for another poem:**

_**There was once a man called Drake,  
Who wanted a chocolate cake,  
but only found snake,  
which made his bowels quake,  
and so had to 'go' in a lake,  
poor Drake.**_

**I think that one was better than the other one…more visual…**


	3. Dragon Teeth

**Hey hey, new chapter, ok, so going on from last time…Elena thinks she's pregnant because of Sully's weird gift thing…ok…**

**Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I don't own this…I wish I did though…it would be nice…**

**Anyways…on with the stuff**

* * *

Chapter 1

_Present Day_

Nathan Drake opened his eyes and blinked wearily. The first thing that registered in his mind was how cold it was.

Was he sitting in a train carriage which was dangling off a snow covered cliff? Because that _had_ happened before and Nate wouldn't put it past himself to get himself involved with something like that again.

Nobody seemed to believe him when he told them though. Nate often wondered why this was and then he remembered what he did for a living. Even that was hard to comprehend.

Adventuring. Nate frowned. Was that even a word? Not that it paid any bills. Especially recently. And anyways, Elena had recently put a strict ban on all things that seemed remotely adventurous. Not with that 'thing' about to be born. He wasn't even allowed to buy milk without someone escorting him while she was away. It wasn't like he asked for ancient diaries of long lost relatives or treasure maps to find their way to him and drag him off on fast paced, action filled and, yet, incredibly enjoyable journeys but thinking that he would find holy scriptures on a milk carton was going too far.

Although, knowing his luck, he wouldn't have been surprised if that did actually happen.

Furthermore, Elena kept reminding him about that time with the rubber gloves. He had tried a million times to explain that he had just been going through a rough patch and that he was out of it now. Well, he had no choice really. How had Sully put it later? Oh yes, he had to 'man up'.

Nate thought he was manly enough already. Indeed, he would even go as far to say he was manly enough for two men. The idea of children detracted from that slightly. He couldn't be out there swinging from vines with a baby hanging round his neck, with a nappy bag slung across his shoulder. That was just wrong.

As it turned out, Nate wasn't hanging from the aforementioned cliff but lying in his bed; the cold he had felt was a result of the sheets falling to the floor. Considering his lifestyle, he thought this pretty boring, considering his bank account it was really the only place he could afford to be at the moment. Come to think of it, it wasn't even his apartment, it was Elena's. Nate wondered how lazy he was if he couldn't be bothered to find a bigger place for them to live. Thinking about the engagement ring he had hidden under a loose floorboard, he would probably have to start worrying about that soon. Elena would be coming home in a couple of weeks. Nate stared at the empty space on the bed and sighed

A sharp ringing sound brought his attention to the telephone on the bedside table, it dawned on him that this was the reason he had woken in the first place.

'Nate here,' he answered.

There was a guttural scream on the other side.

Nate blinked. This wasn't the weirdest phone call he had ever had but it rated pretty high on the list. 'Dammit Sully, is this one of your practical jokes? 'Cause it ain't funny.'

There was scuffling on the other side and after a few moments someone finally spoke to him.

'Hey, Nate, it's me.'

Nate let out a breath of relief when he heard Elena's voice. 'What was that sound?' he asked her.

'Oh, I'm at the hospital, they've put me in a room with someone in labour so I would know what it is like…for my report, that is,' Elena explained, she didn't want Nate to think _she_ was having the baby there.

Nate paled, would Elena start doing that? He thought it prudent to ask.

'Uh, is that going to happen to you?'

'What?' Elena replied, confused.

'The screamy thing,' he mumbled.

'I hope not,' Elena said, adding as a slight joke: 'And if it did, I hope you would be there to comfort me.'

Nate did not appreciate the joke, mainly because he did not comfort people. The very idea that he would have to comfort Elena _in_ labour was enough to make him want to hide under the covers and it took a lot to do that to a man of his calibre.

'Nate?'

Nate realised he hadn't answered.

'Uh, sure…I can do that,' he lied, already feeling a cold sweat coming on.

--

_Several months before_

Elena realised she needed to get herself to a chemist, without Nate realising. No need to raise a panic until she knew herself what was going on.

Nate had happily returned to his video game, leaving a rather stumped Sully with a pile of unopened mail.

'I don't get it,' he muttered, 'he gets all shook up after hearing about the baby and then goes back, happily, to playing games!'

Elena let out a ragged sigh and slumped into one of the chairs, she felt worn out, it wasn't even lunchtime. 'Get used to it,' she said, 'imagine living with that for seven days a week.'

Sully flicked through the rest of the post and suddenly paused. 'Well, hello there,' he said. Elena looked up.

'What is it?'

'It's an envelope with a postmark from Africa,' Sully answered. Without asking, he slit the top and slid the letter out.

Reading swiftly, he added, 'It's from Chloe.'

Elena was a little shocked. They hadn't heard from her in a long time. Elena didn't want to sound rude but whenever Chloe's name came up, things usually took a turn for the worse.

'What does it say?' she asked.

Sully looked up briefly, 'Seems like ol' Chloe's in a spot of trouble…she was out on a dig, apparently, there was supposedly some booty to be had but it turns out that they only found one thing.'

Elena, considering the letter's author, was annoyed to find that she was quite curious. 'What was it?'

'Well, that's the thing, she doesn't really know what _it_ is,' Sully carried on. There was a grainy photo attached to the letter and they both peered at it, squinting. The photo showed a long object that was u shaped. The item had been placed next to a ruler for comparison. Using this, Elena figured it was about thirty centimetres across. From the colour it looked like it was made from some sort of dark stone. Perhaps it was mud.

'It looks like a…,'

'Giant….turd,' Sully finished.

'Sully!' Elena admonished. Sully held up his hands in defence.

'I just call 'em as I see 'em and that looks like a piece of sh-.'

'Ok, ok, I get where you're coming from…it does look a little…curled…,' Elena frowned at the picture.

Sully went back to the letter, 'Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, Chloe asked Nate if he wanted to join her, she has a good feeling about this…,' he waved a hand in the general direction of the photograph, '…thing. Seems to me like we caught ourselves a lucky break. An adventure like this would keep Nate out of supermarkets for weeks. You are gonna tell him, right?'

Elena didn't know what to think. Sure Chloe had a past with Nate, she wouldn't be surprised if lots of women did. Nate was like that, he was, or seemed to be, the perfect guy. 'Seemed' because shot down a pair of rubber gloves down at the supermarket and that wasn't normal behaviour.

But Chloe was different from the rest. If Elena still felt slightly threatened by anyone it was her. It wasn't as if Chloe was directly a bad thing. If Nate didn't exist, Elena was pretty sure they could've gotten along just fine. Maybe that was exaggerating things a little but because Nate did exist (Elena was glad that he did) Chloe was a problem.

Chloe was all gung-ho, guns blazing, ass-kicking. She wasn't afraid to flaunt herself if she knew it was going to get her somewhere or something. Even if it was a small a thing as a smile from Nate. Elena on the other hand wore suits to board meetings. She groaned-what sort of comparison was that? _And_ Chloe had an accent. Elena couldn't beat that. Not to mention the flirting or revealing clothes or the fact that she just looked amazing or the way her hair……Elena had to tell herself to stop making a list of all the things that made Chloe who she was.

If Chloe took Nate away from her, Elena supposed that it would hurt more than anything she had ever experienced, bearing in mind that she _had_ nearly died by grenade shrapnel and that was pretty painful.

Maybe it was the fact that Chloe would be the one to break Nate out of his strange mental state. This didn't seem right to Elena. _She_ was the one who was meant to do it, not Chloe.

If things could get any worse, it looked like she might be pregnant. What if Nate saw this as an opportunity to just run from this? No, Nate wasn't a coward. He wouldn't do that.

Nate loved her.

Sully noticed the torrent of emotions run through Elena, recognising a few and disliking more he decided to say something.

'Ah, come on, don't compare yourself to Chloe. I mean she does have some sweet ass-.'

Elena shot him a glance.

'..sweet ass kicking moves but you're the one Nate chose and I don't think he's ever regretted it.'

As far as pep talks go, it wasn't that amazing, but Sully hoped it had done something.

'That may be so, but…I don't know…I'm scared I'm going to lose him over this whole baby situation, you saw his reaction out there,' Elena was getting emotional. This didn't happen often, she was one of those people who bottled it all up and then let it all out on some unsuspecting innocent. In more than one case that person had been Nate.

'Wait…I don't even know if I am pregnant. All I have is your word,' Elena said.

'Hey, what? So now my word don't account for anything. Look, I'll get you your pregnancy test and then when it turns out positive I want you to go out there and show that…turd photo to Nate. Deal?'

The two were silent. A smile tugged at the corner of Elena's mouth and Sully couldn't suppress a grin. They both started laughing, hard. Sully was bent over double holding the counter for support.

'Oh my God…it actually does look like a giant dung,' Elena said between breaths. Sully snorted.

'I can't believe Chloe went all the way out to Africa and dug that up,' he smiled.

--

Elena had to pee on twenty pregnancy tests (none of them Sully) before she was convinced that she had to go see her doctor.

Sully groaned. 'Oh brother, Elena, I think we can go on knowing you are now pregnant.'

Elena shoved one the test kit boxes in his face, ' Read the label! It's only ninety-nine percent accurate. To make sure, I'll go to the doctor, they'll do some more tests and then I'll know for certain.'

'Look, you're just in denial,' Sully said, placing both palms on her shoulders, she stopped pacing. 'Somebody needs to tell you that you're going to be all right and since your mother isn't here I guess I'll have to do it. Elena, everything is gonna work out just fine, but we're not going to get anywhere if you don't accept that you are pregnant, expecting, have a bun in the oven, riding the baby train or with child. There is no way I can sugar coat this for you but you have to tell Nate. While you're doing that don't forget to mention the Chloe thing.'

Elena absorbed this speech slowly. Sully was right. She had to get a grip, she was made of stronger stuff than this. She stared at her bedroom door, building up her courage. This was a bit of a double whammy, not only was she going to have tell Nate that she was pregnant, she was also going to have to tell him that Chloe had found a…thing…in Africa.

She bit her lip, trying to frame the words in her head. Nothing was working.

The pair had managed to keep this a secret from Nate because he was so engrossed with his game. He hadn't even noticed Sully leave or return with a plastic bag packed with something that was not, for once, beer.

Sully gave Elena a little push and she walked out, swallowing audibly.

'Um, Nate….honey…,' she began.

Nate paused the game. Elena had never called him honey. Never. Except for that time when she told him that she had accidently put the bronze altar spoon in the dishwasher or that time she had dropped the Tibetan silver ring down the bathroom sink plughole. He remembered that well. Clearly something was up. He tried to react normally.

'Yes…Pookie?'

Elena was thrown off a minute, 'Huh, wait, you've never called me that before.'

'Well, you've never called me honey either. I thought we were starting a new thing,' Nate replied. Elena found herself smiling. Oh yes, a glimpse of the old Nate, who would be willing to call her silly pet names any day.

Having removed Nate's feet from the coffee table she sat down on it and faced him.

'Look, this isn't going to be easy but I have to tell you something,' Elena started again. Sully was making urging movements behind the sofa. She was sure he was trying to help but Elena wished he'd cut her some slack.

'What is it?' Nate asked, bringing Elena back from her thoughts. She looked at him. Poor Nate, she thought, just a an hour ago he'd been so relieved that I wasn't pregnant. It occurred to her that she didn't really want to ruin his life. Maybe she should think about this more. There was a suppressed groan from Sully and more hand movements, this time accompanied by facial expressions.

No, she would have to tell him now.

Well, maybe she could prolong it a little. She handed Nate the letter and photo. It took him a minute to go through it.

He looked up quickly, 'Oh my God, Elena, do you know what this is?'

'Sully and I don't have a clue,' Elena replied, from the sudden change in attitude she guessed that Nate knew what the object in the photo was.

'It's a dragon's jawbone.'

Elena gave him a nonplussed look, only Nate would see a dragon's jawbone in something that was so obviously a…big dropping. Nate sighed.

'You ever seen that film about Jason?' he asked. Sully joined them.

'You mean, like, the Argonauts?' Elena replied, feeling even more lost. Sully had this look in his eyes, like he knew something good was about to be said.

'You know that bit when Aeëtes sows the teeth of the Hydra and they become fully armed battle skeletons?'

'Yes…,' Elena said slowly.

'Well, originally , in the myths, they weren't the Hydra's teeth but dragon teeth. A myth told the story of how a Phoenician prince called Cadmus, killed a dragon that guarded the spring of Ares. The goddess Athena told him to sow half of the dragon's teeth and from the earth grew fully armed warriors, spartoi, who, according to the tale, were invincible and, seemingly, indiscriminate in their killing. In the end, the only way to defeat them was by turning them against each other and so Cadmus threw a gem at the soldiers. The soldiers thought that one of their had thrown it and fought over it. They killed each other till only five remained. These five and Cadmus helped found and develop the city Thebes.'

There was silence till Elena said, 'That didn't really have anything to do with Jason and the Argonauts.'

'Oh, there's more, if you remember, only half the teeth were used. The other half Jason collected. In order to win the golden fleece, he had to sow the seeds and defeat the soldiers. Using a similar trick to Cadmus, Jason threw a stone at the group of soldiers and they fought over it. They all died. The funny thing was though, after the teeth were sown, more grew back in the jaws of the dragon.'

'The film definitely didn't have all that in it,' Elena muttered, she had seen that film as a child, the scene with the skeletons had creeped her out big time.

Sully let out a low whistle, 'So are you telling me that there are teeth with which you could build your own army? It would be worth millions.'

Nate nodded.

Sully and Elena looked at the photo again. Elena was still sceptical but Sully tilted the photo and twisted his head, trying to see the shape of the jaw.

'Well, that may be true, but there aren't any teeth on this thing,' he commented and passed the photo back to his friend. Nate, acknowledging that the photo was bad quality, shoved his hand down a crevice in the sofa and pulled out a magnifying glass.

Sully raised an eyebrow at Elena. 'Hey, don't look at me,' she said, putting her hands up, 'I'm not in charge of the housekeeping.'

Nate smiled to himself as he examined the photo and looked up, his eyes bright. 'There might not be any teeth now but there definitely were, look, there are grooves all along the bone.'

The other two peered through the magnifying glass.

Elena ran a hand through her hair, 'That may be so but it's absurd to think that it's actually true, I mean, warriors growing from the ground. It sounds a little far-fetched.'

The three thought about their past adventures. None of that seemed possible either. Elena sighed in defeat.

'Ok, maybe it _is_ true, but the teeth aren't there now. It's useless if we don't know where they are.'

'I need to talk to Chloe; they may be near where the jaw was dug up,' Nate replied, he scanned the letter again and chuckled. 'She's given me her phone number, I'll be right back,' he added and he left to use the phone in the hallway.

Sully and Elena sat in silence.

'Well, that was unexpected, I didn't think he would actually know what that was,' Sully said after a while. Elena stared at the space Nate had occupied without acknowledging what Sully had just said. He knew she'd heard though, 'It's not gonna buy you much time either.'

'I know, but it's better than nothing, I don't know even know how to say it,' Elena mumbled. Sully looked at her.

'It's easy, you just walk up to him and say 'Nate, I'm pregnant, deal with it', easy peasy,' Sully said. Elena looked at him balefully.

'I don't think that's going to work somehow,' she replied. 'I need to find the right time, what if he was holding a mirror and I told him and then he dropped the mirror. That's seven years bad luck and God knows Nate needs all the luck he can get, you know what kind of trouble he can get into.'

'Elena, I don't think that's likely,' Sully said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She was about to say something when Nate came back in, he looked excited, his joy barely contained.

'You'll never guess what,' he began but before he gave them a chance to speak he continued, 'A few days after she sent the letter, Chloe was digging at another location and she found an ivory box containing what seems to be our missing teeth.'

'Oh my God,' Sully said slowly, 'That's incredible.'

Elena was surprised that Nate wasn't jumping up and down by now. This was huge but he managed to sit back down on the sofa. He looked at her. His mood dimmed a little.

'Uh, I know that we agreed that I wouldn't go off on these…adventures but I really think-.'

Elena patted his cheek, who was she to prevent the man she loved from being happy? 'Go to Africa, Nate, I don't mind. It's not like something like this happens every day.'

'Really?' Nate said his mouth curving into a grin, more out of relief than anything else. Elena smiled back, how could she not let him go? He was going to go crazy if she didn't.

Nate kissed her so suddenly and so hard that she lost her balance and fell backwards. She managed to her put arms around his neck, pulling him down with her. Immediately, under the weight of them both, the table gave way and collapsed. Sully watched in amusement, his mouth twitching in a smile.

There was a groan of pain and Nate rolled off Elena, 'Piece of crap, why'd we buy that thing?'

Elena rubbed her head, still reeling from the kiss more than the table breaking, 'It was my grandma's.'

Nate was silent for a moment, 'Oops.'

--

Elena was running out of time. As soon as they'd cleared up the remains of the table, Nate had gone off to pack.

Sully gave her an expectant look.

She felt drained and in no way prepared about telling Nate about the pregnancy and she _still_ hadn't eaten lunch. If she was going to get this over and done with, it had to be soon.

'Do I need to give you another pep talk or something?' Sully asked, gesturing at the bedroom door. Bristling with nervous energy she stepped in and closed the door behind her. Sully put his ear to door and listened.

Nate had a suitcase on the bed and was flinging in clothes randomly from the wardrobe. She sighed, he was hopeless at packing things. She gathered up a pile of shirts and started to fold them. Nate continued gathering things from around the room. She watched him pick up an incense stick holder. She frowned.

'Nate, do you really think you might need one of those?' she asked. Nate looked at her.

'I dunno, it might be smelly over there…or something. If there's anything that I've learnt over the years it's that…well I don't know, but you never know when these things could come in handy,' Nate explained, the holder went into the case.

He gave her a sideways look, once satisfied that she wasn't looking his way, he put something into the suitcase. He wasn't as subtle as he'd thought. Elena looked at him.

'What was that?' she asked.

'What was what?'

'Hey, I know you put something into the case,' she went over and reached out. Nate flipped the lid on the case quickly in an attempt to stop her. She stopped her hand just before the lid snapped shut on her fingers.

'Hey, what gives? Let me see,' she said. Nate sighed, she was probably going to look in the case when he was turned around anyway. He reluctantly opened the case and Elena took out a photo, still in its frame.

It was a picture of her, smiling on a beach complete with golden sands and a deep blue ocean. She remembered the scene as if it were yesterday, the sights, smells, sounds. She looked at Nate, 'You were sneaking a picture of me? You didn't have to hide that.'

Nate squirmed, 'I just didn't want you to think…I dunno…that I was soft or anything, you don't need to know that I'm gonna miss you. And anyways, I thought it might detract from the manly image you have of me.'

Elena snorted but inside she was extremely happy. She handed the photo back to Nate who dropped it into the suitcase again.

'How did you know I wasn't going to come with you?' Elena asked.

'Oh, your boss rang yesterday, reminding me to tell you that you had an overdue assignment and three deadlines coming up,' Nate said cheerily. Elena raised an eyebrow.

'And when were you going to tell me this?' Elena wondered. Nate frowned.

'Oh, I must've forgotten but I told you now so it's ok,' he said and turned back to the wardrobe.

Elena sighed and sat on the bed, deep in thought. It was now or never. Reaching out, Elena took hold of the one of the belt hoops on Nate's trousers and tugged. Nate stumbled backwards onto the bed. Sitting up, he gave Elena a confused look.

'What was that for?' he asked.

'Nate, we need to talk. What I'm about to say is important and, well, I just want you to think about it before saying anything,' Elena began for the second time that day.

Nate caught the serious tone in her voice and sat a little straighter, 'What's wrong?'

This was it, it was the perfect time. There was no Sully making weird movements behind the sofa and Nate wasn't holding mirror. She couldn't have asked for more. So why couldn't she bring herself to say the words? Elena found herself hating her cowardice.

'You know, I think now we're gonna have to think about setting the table for three from now on,' Elena tried, she couldn't actually bring herself to say the words. Hopefully Nate would get there himself.

'Sully's staying for dinner?' Nate said.

'No! I mean the table is going to be set for three for a _long_ time….and we may need a bigger place…possibly a cot,' Elena tried again, emphasising the length of time. Nate scratched his chin.

'Sully's moving in?'

Outside the bedroom, Sully slapped his forehead. How dense could you be? Elena sighed heavily. It looked like there was no way to easily go about this.

She took his hand.

'I was hoping you'd figure it out but I guess I wasn't being clear. Nate, Sully was right, I'm pregnant.'

There was silence. Nate withdrew his hand.

Elena suddenly felt very alone.

* * *

**I really didn't know where to end this chapter….**

**Everything has gone so crazy…it's no longer about Elena having a baby…I don't know how the dragon teeth got there…**

**At the moment everything seems to be happening in the past...it won't always be like that**

**That story about the dragon teeth is a real myth/legend…I looked it up…I've changed it a little to make it more to the story…**

**Jason and the Argonauts is a well good film…so old…**

**Anyways…another poem:**

_**There was a man called Sully  
Who fell into a deep gully  
He tried to get out  
But slipped on a trout  
And so rang his friend  
because he had hurt his rear end**_

**Wasn't that good but it'll do**

**Thanks for reading!**


	4. Tea Time

**Good Evening!**

**Hey…ok…new chapter….Nate and Elena talking and stuff…Chloe comes in later too…I realise now that I like her a lot more than I used to..**

**It was well cold today….**

**Not much to say…maybe later….**

* * *

Chapter 3

_Present day_

The phone call ended as well it could have. A hurried goodbye and a promise to see each other soon.

Nate sighed, that was what his relationship had come to. He let the phone fall to the mattress, it landed with a soft thud. Turning his head slightly, he read the time from the clock radio, it's numerals glowed ominously. The clock revealed that it was early morning, way before dawn. Nate could've gone back to sleep but he didn't.

Too much to think about.

Something caught his eye, a small white box next to the clock. A fairly recent addition to the table. Leaning over, he picked it up and shook it gently. There was a sharp rattle. The dragon's teeth. It was shame that they hadn't been able to locate the other jaw. They would never know its location now, Nate thought bitterly. Wasted time, which he should've spent with Elena, he mused. Although, he had to admit, it had been quite fun.

He wondered how Elena was, all alone in Turkey. He ought to have gone with her. This was their child.

Nate shivered. His child. How was that going to turn out?

Nate didn't really want to find out.

Though, thinking about how the news had been broken to him, he thought he had taken it quite well.

Nate had the feeling that Elena had a different point of view.

--

_Several months ago_

Elena was lying on the couch, dead to the world.

Sully wondered if he should say anything but decided against it. A half hour earlier, Elena had come out of the bedroom, silent and pale as a ghost. He hadn't said anything then either.

Nate, presumably, was still sitting immobile on the bed. Sully felt it was a good time to leave but then glancing at the forlorn Elena, he tried something else.

He dumped the carton in front of Elena, her head turned, a small smile hit her lips.

'Ah, Sully, you know me too well,' she said, picking up the spoon and opening the Ben and Jerry's ice cream Sully had given her.

'Uh, how did it go in there?' he asked. Elena paused, spoon half way to her mouth. Reconsidering, she shovelled more ice cream onto it.

'I'm not really sure, he just went silent,' she replied, 'considering what Nate's like…it's the best I could've hoped for.'

Sully could tell this wasn't true and was about to try some more comforting when he saw the ice cream tub. 'Goddamn, Elena, you've had that for like two seconds and you've eaten half!'

Elena raised an eyebrow and pointed the spoon at him, 'Two things, first, this is Phish Food flavour, my favourite, and second, I'm an emotional pregnant female, I'm allowed.'

Sully put up his hands, 'Well, don't go crying to me when you put on weight.' Sully stopped, Elena was pregnant-she was going to gain weight anyway. She gave him a flat look and Sully sighed.

'Sorry, shoulda' thought about that, anyways, just take it slow, with Nate that is, I've got no hope on changing your mind about the ice cream. Give him time, he'll come around to the idea,' Sully advised. Elena gazed mournfully at the now empty pot. She moved to the kitchen in search of snacks. Sully followed.

'I know that, I just feel slightly bad about the fact that this has all been kinda forced on Nate,' Elena said, munching contentedly on potato chips. She offered them to Sully who grimaced and shook his head.

'True, but Nate's a good guy, he'll figure something out,' Sully assured her.

'I just hope he comes out of the bedroom,' she muttered, chewing on a chocolate éclair. Sully eyed her worriedly, wondering where all this food was coming from.

As if on a cue, Nate walked into the room. The two turned to him. Elaina tried to hide a doughnut behind her back, forgetting that she had chocolate all over her mouth. Nate had a thing about other people eating his doughnuts. Especially the ones with pink sprinkles on them. Surprisingly, he made no comment about the food but said something that neither of them had been expecting.

'Oh, Elena, you know that thing, where the toilet stops flushing properly, yeah, well, it's started again. I'm just gonna go borrow a plunger from the neighbour's. I won't be long.'

Saying this, Nate left.

Sully gaped like a goldfish. Elena finished the doughnut and reached for another.

'I'm sure that's his way of dealing with it…,' Sully said weakly.

'I don't know…Nate hated fixing that toilet…it was hardly therapeutic,' Elena replied, momentarily distracted by a bunch of grapes.

'How long do you think he's gonna be?' Sully asked. Elena looked at her watch.

'Knowing Nate….a long time.'

--

Nate wondered around aimlessly for the better part of an hour. He hadn't been lying about the toilet but he didn't really want to go and fix it. He just needed an excuse to leave.

He felt a little numb. The whole situation felt a little surreal.

A baby. His baby.

Without realising Nate had wandered into a park and was slumped onto an empty bench. The sun was high in the sky and the clouds non-existent which meant, inevitably, that children had come out to play.

The sound of their happy screams and shouts taunted him. He couldn't possibly look after one of those…things. Other people's kids were ok, he could give them back later.

Nate watched bemused, as a toddler waddled towards a climbing frame, his chubby face radiating a child's joy.

He fell over.

At any other time, Nate might have laughed, but knowing that he might have one those changed his perspective. The child was now crying, big fat tears on his big fat face. A worried father ran up to the child and picked him up. It refused to be placated and continued to bawl.

Nate was losing his temper now, and it wasn't even his child. Children crying was one of the worst sounds in the world.

The father made a face and made did some weird baby talk thing that went beyond Nate's comprehension. The boy gurgled happily and laughed.

Nate frowned. Was he going to have to do that? He didn't do baby talk. He was a man…a manly man…ate raw meat…100% beef… didn't-need-anaesthetic-when-the dentist-gave-him-a-filling…that sort of thing.

As the father and laughing son walked passed him, Nate remembered something else. One of the best sounds in the world was a child laughing.

Nate scowled. Who'd come up with that mush?

Pushing thoughts about children away, Nate turned his attention to Elena. What must she be going through? He'd seen the chocolate on her mouth. The doughnut in her hand. Nate knew Elena well enough to understand that she had turned to comfort food.

Wait, maybe it wasn't that. Maybe it had started.

The cravings…soon she would be nagging at him to go to store to buy more junk food while he massaged her swollen feet. Nate shuddered. Massaging swollen feet was a big step. Nate froze. Birthing lessons…was he going to have to go? Did it involve watching one of those videos?

Nate didn't want to think about that any more than he had to.

What about Africa? Wasn't he going to find Chloe and have an adventure? Was he even allowed to do that, when his girlfriend was pregnant? Was it fair that he would be having all the fun?

Nate groaned and rubbed his forehead with a hand. He'd been here long and felt like he'd sorted out nothing.

Looking around, thought, Nate realised that these…families…were happy. The kids weren't the only ones who were smiling. It seemed that parents had lots to grin about too. Nate guessed you had to be a parent to figure out what the cause was.

With this on his mind, Nate left the park, stopped at the store to pick up some Phish Food ice cream (Elena's favourite, he remembered) and went to get a plunger.

--

Sully chewed a cigar nervously.

He wondered when Nate would turn up, he had managed to get Elena occupied with something trivial, namely a 1000 piece puzzle of an ocean. It would take her ages and possibly mean there would be food for them to eat later.

They both heard to lock in the door turn, announcing Nate's return.

He came in, plunger in hand, and gave a plastic bag to Elena, 'I got you that ice cream you like…uh…yeah,' he said sheepishly.

There was an awkward silence, Nate flicked his gaze over to Sully who took the hint and made himself scarce.

Elena stood and took a tentative step forward towards Nate who put a hand up.

'Um, I don't know how to say this but uh…I thought about it and…I'll deal with it,' Nate finished lamely but Elena understood. She let out a sigh of relief.

'D'you mean it? I don't want to feel like this was forced on you,' she asked, crossing the gap between them. Nate shook his head.

'I'm fine, really…but I draw the line at massaging your swollen feet,' he grinned. Elena laughed and put her arms around him.

'You really have thought about this, haven't you?' she murmured. Nate was quiet for a moment resting his chin on her head.

'I get the feeling I'm going to have to think a whole lot more but for now I'm good and a little…uh…excited or something like that,' he said.

Boy, does he have a way with words, Elena thought to herself. A thought occurred to her. They were going to be parents…didn't that entail marriage or something…or was she really old fashioned? At any rate, she wasn't going to mention that now.

Elena missed what Nate was saying and he squeezed her, 'Hey are you listening?' he asked.

'What is it?'

'We're going to be parents! Can you believe it?' Nate exclaimed, trying to put as much enthusiasm into it as he could muster. For good measure he picked Elena up and twirled her around, only because it seemed to be the right thing to do.

He set Elena down and looked at her.

This was the woman he loved, even though he had a hard time saying it. They were having a baby together and he was about to leave her for a an adventure. This didn't sound right to him. A sudden notion came to him. Was he meant to marry her? Maybe he should call Chloe again…

Elena flicked Nate's forehead. He flinched, 'What was that for?'

'You were starting to stare and it was more than a little creepy,' Elena explained. Nate frowned.

'I was just thinking,' he said.

They went quiet but unlike before it was an amicable silence, drawing comfort from each other's embrace. Elena broke the silence. 'Nate, you don't have to feel guilty about going to Africa, nothing is going to happen to me-.'

Nate cut in, 'You know what? I'm not going to Africa. I'm gonna call Chloe and…I dunno…send her Sully or something…but I promise I won't go anywhere till the baby is born.'

'Nate, that's really sweet but-.'

'Hey, no buts, I'm not going and anyways if I'm not here then who's gonna do those weird breathing exercises with you…y'know the one…where they breathe in and out really fast,' Nate explained. Elena smiled, not matter how hard she tried, she could not imagine Nate doing those exercises. It was his way of saying that he loved her and that was just fine with Elena.

Nate kissed her again, this time making sure to avoid all furniture.

Somewhere in the hallway, the phone began to ring.

Foreheads resting against each other, Nate swore. He hated interruptions.

'I'll get it,' He grunted and stumped out of the room.

Elena managed to manoeuvre herself onto the sofa and sank into the deep cushions. It was like a daydream, everything was turning out well. Elena frowned, that didn't usually happen often.

She hoped it would last.

--

Chloe Frazier had a clear image in her mind of what fun should be and this definitely wasn't it.

The sun beat down without remorse and the dry, sparse trees offered little shade or relief.

Sweat trickled down her shoulder blades as she drove the spade into the hard ground. How long had she been digging? Oh, about ten minutes or so but that was enough for Chloe who was more the type to let others do the hard work. If only these bums were as willing as Nate, she thought, watching the hired help sipping water and playing cards on an upturned crate.

Ever since Nate had rang, she had been back to the original dig site, combing the area for a second jawbone. The teeth were secure in her tent. She shook her head irritably as sand blew into her face. If this went on for much longer she was going to have to swear very loudly.

Sand it seemed, could get anywhere it wanted. In her shoes, socks, ears, eyes and nose. Chloe guessed that if she were to sneeze she would probably blow out enough sand to start her own desert.

She decided to take a break, this was looking like a dead end anyway. She spied a bottle of water and instead of chugging it down she dunked it over her head. It was warm but it would do. Chloe noted with amusement that the hired help were certainly more interested in her now that she drenched in water. Men, she thought and decided not to get onto that subject. Chloe could spend days discussing that one.

However, the first warning that something was wrong started with men. Two of them in fact. She could tell that they weren't part of her group. She had only hired locals and these two were pale and from the looks of it burning slightly too.

They had had done a good job of dressing like the others but the faces gave them away. The two men were standing apart from the rest, leaning against an ancient Jeep which was parked next to her tent. Chloe frowned, thinking about who they could be. Spies?

Not many people actually knew she was here, so how did these two know where to look? This was just one of the thoughts going through her head as she approached the newcomers. They turned their heads and Chloe rummaged in her satchel, trying to act as normal as possible. As soon as they had turned she had seen the guns. They were armed, this was becoming serious.

Instead of charging in there, Chloe reconsidered and hunkered down behind some storage containers. An irrational thought entered her mind. Were they here for the dragon teeth? But she had only found them recently. How would anyone know about those? She supposed one of the locals could have spilled the beans-it didn't take much to bribe them. It was then that Chloe noticed the gravity of the situation, glancing round she realised that there were more than just two men.

The reason she hadn't noticed before was because the disguised men had spread out and the two separate men she noticed first. Chloe had a bad feeling about this. They were probably looking for the teeth and it wouldn't take very long to find.

She had to find out who they worked for. Chloe figured she'd have the least difficult time eavesdropping on the first two men she had seen. The Jeep was parked in a way that made it easy for her to crouch on the other side of it without either of the men noticing.

Looking into her bag again she brought out her own gun and shoved in the waistband of her trousers. As backup she took her mobile out and placed it in a pocket.

Chloe was ready.

'Here we go,' she muttered to herself and peered around. No one seemed to be watching her but she noticed that the men were no longer trying to be subtle in their searching for the teeth. The crate that the locals were playing cards on was smashed to pieces. Things were heating up.

She stole away towards the Jeep and feeling a little dramatic she rolled into cover behind the Jeep's cab. Chloe noticed, with disgust, that her wet shirt was now covered in sand. She swore. She wasn't going to do that again anytime soon.

The men's voices were clear now and with surprise she noticed that the accents were Russian and very strong. So strong, that she thought that they may have been putting it on.

The first man spat on the ground, 'I hate this place. It too hot. Ven ve get back to camp I vant vodka,' he said, it was almost comical the way every 'w' sounded like a 'v'. Chloe rolled her eyes. These accents were definitely phoney.

The second man grunted, 'There is no vodka there, only American scum whisky.'

Chloe mouth twitched in a smile, amateurs, she thought, the second man had a different accent to the first. But why all this acting? It seemed a bit much for Chloe. That was the least of her problems though, she needed to get into the tent to retrieve the teeth without the two fake Russians noticing.

At this moment a fight broke out between the locals playing cards and the man who had smashed their makeshift table. The two flunkies hurried towards the commotion. Chloe sighed a breath of relief and checking the coast was clear she made her way to the tent, pulling out her phone as she did so, already dialling Nate's number.

She never even got to speak.

A large hand gripped Chloe's wrist and pulled back hard. She dropped the phone.

She fought back on instinct, lashing out with her free hand. There was a crunching sound and a howl of pain, her captor let go, instantly cupping his nose which was now a sticky red mess. Chloe saw that he was one of the disguised men and knew the others would be alerted by his cry.

Unfortunately, the man wasn't alone and his friend swung the butt of his gun at her forehead.

It connected.

Chloe hit the floor, out cold.

--

Sometime later, Chloe came to. Still groggy she tried to remember what had happened. Ah yes, she thought to herself, fake Russians and dragon teeth. A normal day in the life of Chloe Frazier.

Chloe found that her movement was restricted and concluded that she was tied to a chair. A wound at her hairline, caused by the butt of gun, had trickled blood and it had dried at one of her eyes, making it hard to open.

With some effort and a lot of eyebrow raising, she was able to crack open the eyelid. Chloe took stock of her surroundings. She was in her tent, she recognised the layout, but it had been trashed, clearly in the search for the dragon teeth.

Chloe was alone and after a few minutes she realised how uncomfortable it was. It wasn't just because the cords tying her to the chair but her shirt, now damp, was clammy and the sand made her itch. Blasted sand, she thought venomously.

Her curses to the sand were interrupted when three men entered the tent.

Chloe could tell that the one in front had some authority by the way held himself, chin high, chest slightly puffed. That and the enamel badge which said 'team leader' on his jumpsuit.

The other two were obviously just guards, they stood by the tent flap, with general flat looks.

She noted that they had all ditched the disguises.

The man in front held something up in front of Chloe and shook it. There was a rattling sound.

'So you found the teeth?' Chloe said thickly.

The man smiled, he had a pleasant American accent, 'Yes, although, I thought you would have hidden it better. I hardly needed all the secrecy if I knew it was just sitting on your desk.'

He pulled up a chair and sat down in front of her. Close, maybe an arm's length away. Chloe ran through her options. She needed to escape, to give her time, she tried to make conversation.

'Yeah, what were all the fake accents and stuff about?' she asked. The man looked a little embarrassed and Chloe noted that the he wasn't half bad looking. It was definitely a change to the men who usually kidnapped her.

'Our boss thought it would cast suspicion onto other parties,' the man replied, 'I thought we had a good thing going, we went to lessons and everything.'

Chloe let her jaw hang slightly agape. Who were these people? And this boss, he was clearly mad to send his people to accent lessons.

'You might want to continue because you're not going to be convincing anyone, you were pretty rubbish,' Chloe said and then added after recognising one of the guards, 'especially that one, yeah you, he was replacing every 'w' with a 'v'!'

The man turned his head and looked at the guard who shuffled his feet and looked at his feet.

'Go easy on George, his cat just died, he missed a few classes,' the man said, sympathetically, looking back at her. There was silence for a minute. Chloe knew that the idle chit chat was over. Soon the interrogation was going to start.

Well that's how it was meant to go, Chloe thought, she had been kidnapped enough times to know the procedure.

So she was pleasantly surprised to see the flap open again and an old woman bustle in.

Things were getting weirder and weirder.

The man took a tray from the woman and set it on Chloe's desk. 'Our resident cook, Doris, if you were wondering,' the man explained, 'Do you want some tea?'

Chloe wondered if this was a new way of torture. 'Excuse the pun, but I'm a little….tied up at the moment,' she said.

The man gave an apologetic smile, 'Sorry about that, how about I hold the mug in front of you and give you a straw?'

Chloe sent him a withering look, 'Look, let's just cut to the chase. You've obviously got what you're looking for, I don't see why you can't just let me go.'

The man was quiet, as if deciding something in his mind. After a while he spoke. 'Ok. Fine. We found the teeth and the jawbone. My boss would like to know where the second jawbone is.'

He sipped his tea and waited for an answer. Chloe was stunned but tried to hide it. She had only found out about this dragon business earlier this afternoon. How could their boss know?

One of the guards was slurping his drink down. It was a horrible, wet noise but it reminded Chloe of how thirsty she really was. She sighed.

'I'll have that tea now,' she said.

--

Nate scowled. The dialling tone rang in his ear.

It was probably a prank call. As soon as he'd picked it up there was a scuffling sound and then it went dead.

The caller id was withheld but he wasn't that bothered.

Nate had other things on his mind.

He went back to finish what he'd started with Elena.

--

The tea break began. Chloe was fed a biscuit that tasted slightly stale and lukewarm tea.

At first, the man had placed a straw in a mug and held it in front of her. When she leant forward, the man pulled the cup away, just out of her reach. He did it three times before Chloe got irritated.

'Are these your torture methods? Because they're pathetic. Just let me go already,' she said. The man let her drink the tea.

'Sorry, I was just joking around. Yes, so back to our earlier conversation. I want to know where the other jaw bone is.'

Chloe scowled, 'I don't know where it is.'

'I don't think you're telling the truth,' the man replied.

'It's true, usually I lie all the time but this time I'm not. I don't know where it is. Why do you think we were still digging randomly?' Chloe said through gritted teeth.

The man-

'Look, do you have a name or something, I'm tired of you being referred to as 'the man',' Chloe butted in.

'My name is Ted,' the man replied after some time.

Chloe deadpanned, 'You're the one who's lying. Ted is the most non-threatening name I have ever heard.'

One of the guards smirked. Ted looked a little hurt, 'It is really my name,' he said quietly.

Chloe wanted to gape again but managed to suppress the urge, things were getting out of hand, 'You don't belong in this business, with a name like that, Ted.'

Ted begged to differ and held up a thick metal bar. Chloe raised an eyebrow.

Ted bent the pipe without breaking a sweat.

'Okaaay, maybe you do but you should get a better name…one that's more suited to this sort of shady work,' Chloe advised. Secretly, she was quite impressed and made a mental note to avoid the man if it ever came to a fight.

'Like Nathan Drake?' Ted asked mildly.

Chloe froze. Oh dear, things were taking a turn for the worse.

'I think we've had enough fun for today,' he continued, 'so I'm going to lay down a proposition. Nathan Drake is probably the only man who can find this second jawbone and you know him…on a level that many men are probably envious of, me included. I am going to call him and say that I'll trade you for the second jawbone-complete with teeth. What do you say?'

Chloe blinked, Ted amazed her. He was threatening her, telling her his intentions and at the same time conveying interest in her. Well, she had certainly never met a villain like him before.

'This is all bull. Nathan Drake is nothing to me. He's not coming out here to save my life.' This wasn't necessarily true, well Chloe hoped it wasn't but Nate would probably do something stupid-like mount a rescue and get himself killed. That would be bad.

Ted clicked his fingers, the guard called George dropped a file on the table. It was thick and worn around the edges.

'I had fun reading about your exploits together, Chloe,' Ted said, he flashed her a smile that told her he was holding all the cards, 'You, Nathan, Elena and Victor got into all sorts of adventures. To be honest it all seemed impossible, especially the German zombies, ah, but you weren't there for that were you? Shame, you would've liked it.'

Ted knew way too much. Chloe wondered what she should do. If she played along she might live a little longer, although, by the way they were treating her now, she had no idea how they'd react if she didn't cooperate. She voiced this opinion.

'If you do not cooperate, I am going to…hmm,' Ted thought about it, 'I haven't thought about it, I thought you were going to be helpful.'

Something inside Chloe snapped, there was just too much silliness going on. 'Urgh, I have had enough of this, just give me a phone and I'll ring Nate myself.'

Ted smiled and held out his phone, as if expecting this to happen, suddenly he paused and took the phone back. He beckoned George over.

'Give her your phone,' he ordered the other man. Chloe frowned.

'What's the hold up?' she asked.

'I just remembered that Mr Drake lives in America, that call is going to cost a bomb. Chloe, that was very sneaky of you.'

Chloe stared at him, 'That really wasn't my intention. I don't care if you lost money on a phone call.'

Ted shrugged. George held out his phone.

Chloe rang Nate's number and put it on speakerphone. It rang for a long time till eventually the answer-phone kicked in.

Elena's voice sounded tinny, ' _Hey, we're busy right now but leave a message after the beep-_.'

There was a colossal belch which sounded strange over the small speaker. Neither Ted nor Chloe could conceal their smiles.

'_Nate! It's still recording. Be quiet.'_

Nate's voice replied in a whisper, '_Sorry, I'll go now.'_

There was a sigh from Elena and the beep sounded. Chloe began.

'Uh, hey, Nate, look, I've gotten myself into a spot of trouble. Nothing bad but, well, I've been...kidnapped…by a guy called Ted, I know, unlikely, but let me carry on-he wants to trade me for the second jawbone with the teeth still attached. I think with some negotiating, I could get him to give you first jawbone and teeth, there may be a clue on it or something. So that's about it. Ring this number when you get to the airport and I'll have more instructions for you. Until then, cheerio!'

--

The message played loud and clear through the apartment.

Nate and Elena had managed to ignore the phone ringing but as soon as the beep came and Chloe's voice came on, the good mood disappeared. The canoodling came to a sudden stop.

Elena sat up on the sofa as did Nate and they waited for the message to finish.

Nate looked Elena in the eyes and she held his gaze.

She could see that he had already made his decision.

* * *

**That was probably a little too long a chapter….**

**It's a big ramble….**

**Ben and Jerry's is well good…**

**I had a conversation with my very Asian dad the other day…it went like this…I asked him what his dream job would be and he said rally driver and he asked me the same thing- I thought we were being honest here so I said that I wanted to be a detective…there was silence…then he said…I'm pretty sure you mean doctor, right?**

**Thanks for letting me be in charge of my life, dad….**

**Jokes…anyways…I can't think of a poem…maybe for the next chapter…**

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Lovestruck

**Yo**

**I realised, when looking at my profile, that it was seriously out of date…it said I was 16…I am 18 now…I forgot all about profiles…my one makes me sound like a child…deary deary me…**

**Anyways…**

**So yeah, Chloe was kidnapped by Ted and Nate just got the message after realising that he could probably deal with his own child…**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 4

_Still some time ago_

Nate stepped off the plane and into the humid heat. The blue sky was marred only by a few wispy clouds. Spread out beneath them was Entebbe international airport, situated about an hour's drive from the capital of Uganda, Kampala.

A worker directed the passengers to a set of double doors.

Nate could already feel the sweat building at his forehead. He wiped it with a sleeve and joined the other travellers.

Elena had told him it was alright to go. This _was_ someone's life at stake but Nate still felt a little guilty. Somewhere, deep inside, he knew he should have been with Elena but as usual something had to get in the way of that. If she wasn't pregnant and burdened with work, she could've come with him. Just like the old days but reality set in. Namely, bills to pay and the practicalities/danger of pregnant women in gunfights.

He could hear Sully grouching about the weather behind him.

'Goddamn heat, in this goddamn country with its no goddamn air-con,' the older man grumbled to himself. Despite his dark thoughts, Nate felt himself smile, at least he had Sully with him.

Once they had been checked through customs the pair stood in the shade of a dying tree. Already a layer of fine red dust had settled on their clothes. This did nothing to help Sully's mood.

He was just about to moan again when Nate held up his hand for silence. While Sully was brushing his trousers down, Nate had tried the number that Chloe had used.

It picked up on the third ring.

'Hello?' answered a man's voice.

'This is Nathan Drake...,' Nate hesitated, he didn't really know what to say, 'I was told to ring this number.'

There was brief static and another man's voice came on, it had a heavy Russian accent, 'An hour's drive on the main road will take you to Kampala, it's a well signposted route. Once there you will receive another phone call.'

Nate frowned at this, were they being watched right now? And Russians? Why was it always the Russians? Another thought occurred to him.

'Is Chloe ok?' he asked.

There was some more static and Nate felt the relief surge through him at the sound of his friend's voice.

'Nate, I'm fine, just get moving, I don't think I could take another ten minutes with these people…they're nut-jobs, and don't be fooled…they're putting the accents on,' she said quickly, whispering the last part.

The phone went dead. Sully gave him a searching look.

'So what are we gonna do?' he said.

Nate put the phone away, Chloe didn't seem hurt and her captors needed her alive to make the deal valid. At least he didn't have to worry about the Russian part, due to past experience Nate knew that they were likely to shoot first before even thinking of asking a question. This would have made things a lot harder. Running a hand through his hair, he made his decisions. It would take too long to find Chloe himself so it seemed like a better idea to just follow the orders he'd been given.

Relaying his thoughts to Sully, the two went in search of a taxi and upon finding one, they settled into the back seats. Nate looked at his watch and wondered what Elena was doing. It would be early morning back home. Since it was a Sunday, Nate guessed that she would sleep in. Sometimes he used to watch her do just that. The quiet, even breaths made him feel comfortable somehow. He smiled at the thought, her lying in bed, wearing one of his shirts, she seemed to do that a lot. In the morning light he could see her, his shirt so baggy on her that during the night it would roll up and then he'd see the scars.

Nate's smile faded. One on her stomach, several around her chest, shoulder and left arm. Without realising it, he had clenched his fist. He'd come this close to losing her. The thing most precious to him and he had been helpless.

Bravado was one way with dealing with it and he would never tell Elena how scared he'd felt but he got the feeling that she somehow knew. No doubt she'd something like that when that train had exploded in Tibet.

Nate was shook out of his reverie by Sully's elbow. 'Hey, kid, the phone's ringing.'

Blinking wearily, Nate realised they were driving through a bustling city. He answered the phone.

'Tell your driver to stop at the supermarket coming up on your left,' the voice said, since the game had already been given away, the Russian accent had been dropped. Nate did as he was told and they alighted outside a large Wal-Mart look alike.

'In the parking lot you will see a black Toyota Land Cruiser. Get into the back seats,' the man finished and the phone went dead again.

Nate and Sully stepped into the car park and stopped.

There two cars fitting that description. The phone rang again.

'Uh, sorry, I didn't realise there were two of them, it's the car nearest to the supermarket doors,' the voice sounded apologetic. Sully raised an eyebrow at Nate who shrugged.

'So, they have manners, doesn't mean they still can't be bad guys,' Nate said, hurrying towards the correct Toyota.

They reached the car. The passenger doors were unlocked and the pair climbed in.

The car was well used and from the seats came the faint odour of fast food.

'What now?' Sully asked. Nate shrugged.

A minute later two men got into the car. A dark haired man started the engine and his bald companion pointed a gun in their faces.

'Are either of you armed?' Baldy asked. Sully and Nate shook their heads simultaneously. It was the truth. Smuggling arms into the country wasn't worth the hassle or cost and had decided against it.

Baldy smiled and turned around, fastening his seat belt as he did so. The car set off at a steady pace and much to Sully's relief the air conditioning kicked in, albeit rather badly, intermittently blasting them with ice cold air.

About half an hour later the bald man talked to them again, 'I hope you two have got your seat belts on. Safety first, y'know.'

Sully gave Nate a nonplussed look. Now the bad guys were looking after their health?

'How long is this gonna take?' Nate asked, his butt was already starting to ache from the uncomfortable seats.

'Another three hours or so, you might like to take a nap,' the dark haired one replied, speaking for the first time.

Sully gave Nate a look that warned him against this. Who knows what their captors would do to them if they did.

The landscape was repetitive now that they were out of city. Banana plantations stretched for miles, occasionally separated by barren wastelands. Despite agreeing with Sully, Nate couldn't help but succumb to the lull of sleep, the car's rolling motion doing nothing to help.

Sully watched his friend and sighed. Poor kid, he thought, a baby on the way and now, fake Russians who just seemed a little bit too…_nice._

He wondered how this was going to end.

--

Nate was woken a few hours later as the car turned onto a bumpy dirt track. A glance through the window told him that they were in the middle of nowhere. Red, hilly plains surrounded them, the occasional shrub sprouting here and there.

Peering through the windscreen, Nate could see that they were coming to a compound of sorts. Down below them, pitched tents of white canvas were clustered together, surrounded by a makeshift fence which was patrolled by armed guards.

Nate memorised the layout of the camp as best as he could. You never knew when you might need to make quick escape.

In the seat next to him, Sully groaned.

'What's the matter?' Nate asked. Sully gave him a pained look.

'You were lucky you were asleep, I just spent the last two and a half hours listening to a Celine Dion disc,' he explained. Nate frowned, it couldn't get any worse than this, he thought, fake Russian accents and a bad music taste.

They had reached the compound now and the two men in the front got out. The pair opened the passenger doors and motioned for Sully and Nate to follow them. There was a short conversation on their captors' handheld radios and then they set off at a leisurely pace.

They were led to what seemed to be the main tent which was at the centre of the camp. As they rounded the last corner, Nate and Sully caught sight of Chloe and a tall dark haired man.

'Aww, don't they look like a cute couple,' Sully commented.

'She's tied to a chair, Sully,' Nate said.

Chloe looked up when she saw the approaching figures and let out a sigh of relief. Finally, sane company had arrived. Beside her Ted cleared his throat and ran a hand against his growing stubble. With annoyance, Chloe noticed that her mouth had suddenly gone dry. She was finding it harder and harder to look away from that man and he was probably the craziest of the lot. Weird. Thank God Nate had turned up when he had, because who knows what would've happened then.

The two flunkies escorting Nate and Sully nodded to Ted and left.

The man standing next to Chloe offered Nate his hand and he shook it. 'My name is Ted and I am in command here.'

'I had a dog called Ted once,' Nate replied.

Sully couldn't hold back his grin, 'Well, aren't you a looker, Ted…I don't know what I was expecting but it definitely wasn't this.'

Chloe rolled her eyes, so much for sane company. To make things worse it looked like Ted was blushing slightly. Chloe wanted to be sick.

Nate noticed a fresh bruise on Chloe's cheek. Had they hit her? Maybe they weren't so nice after all. He decided to ask.

Ted looked over at Chloe's cheek and sighed. 'Nope, she did that to herself.'

'Uh huh,' Sully said, 'and you expect us to believe you. She's tied to a chair for God's sake.'

'We untied her so she could go to the bathroom and then she just fell over,' Ted said truthfully, holding his hands up. Nate and Sully looked at Chloe who sighed. The thought still embarrassed her.

'Yes, I fell over, they kept me tied up for so long both my legs went dead,' Chloe admitted through gritted teeth, what made it worse was that Ted had had to pick her up off the floor. Hmm, she mused, Ted had strong arms. Chloe blinked, if she hadn't been tied to a chair she'd slap herself because now was not the time to be thinking about Ted's arms. No matter how strong they were.

Nate decided it was time to move the conversation along, 'Uh, so down to business, what do you want from me?'

Ted showed them into the tent, dragging Chloe's chair behind him. 'Have a seat, Doris will be along shortly.'

Sully frowned, who was Doris? It was probably a man the size of a bull and twice as wide whose job it would be to 'convince'them to do whatever Ted wanted them to do. He nearly shivered at the thought.

Once they were all seated around a small table an old woman appeared carrying a heavy tray. She tottered about so much that Ted took the tray from her.

Oh dear, Chloe thought, and he's a friend of the old people. She frowned and berated herself for thinking about Ted again.

Nate and Sully hesitantly helped themselves to refreshments and Ted began to talk.

'I represent a man of considerable power who is interested in acquiring the dragon's teeth and both jaws. I slightly disagree with what he's going to do with them but he's paying for my niece's life saving surgery, something that I couldn't have done on my own.'

Sully choked on his coffee and Nate dropped the pastry he was holding.

'Wait, you're doing this so your niece can have a surgery?!' Nate said incredulous.

Ted frowned, 'I could hardly let her die, what sort of uncle would that make me? Do you want to see a picture?' Ted replied and rummaged around in one of his pockets. Drawing out his wallet he flicked it open to reveal a picture of an incredibly cute girl who was about four years old.

Chloe grunted, _and_ he was good with children. No, wait, stop thinking about him.

'My hands are tied,' Ted said, he didn't look happy about this, 'I don't like the idea of an immortal army running about doing Phil's bidding but I would do anything to see that my niece gets this surgery. So there you have it.'

Sully paused, 'Phil? Who's Phil?'

'Oops, I wasn't meant to tell anyone, Phil is the guy I work for. He's a rich bugger, thinks he can buy anything with money,' Ted explained.

Nate, Sully and Chloe let their disbelief show. Ted smiled.

'I know, right. Phil? Who's ever heard of the main villain being called Phil, he doesn't even have a Euorpean accent,' he said.

'That's only slightly worse than a right hand man called Ted…sorry,' Sully commented. Nate was quiet for a moment.

'I used to have a fish called Phil,' he said after a while. Chloe wanted to roll her eyes again.

'Thanks for that, Nate,' she muttered, 'Can we just get on with this? Ted, just give Nate the box and teeth and jaw, there might be a clue on it.'

Ted looked a little hurt, 'By the sound of your voice, I'd say that you're looking forward to leaving here. I thought we were getting along well. We still haven't even played all the board games I brought with me. There's still Game of Life and Monopoly left.'

Nate and Sully looked at Chloe, eyebrows rasied, she felt like banging her head on the table. The quicker she got away from here the better. One minute Ted looked to be a well good guy, next thing he's acting like a child over board games.

Although, she had to admit, playing Scrabble was quite fun. She had enjoyed the strip poker a little less.

Ted spoke an order over the radio and after a few minutes later a guard came in with two objects wrapped in cloth. He gave them to Ted who turned them over to Nate. He unwrapped them carefully and in the dim light he could make out fine etchings both on the box and jawbone.

Nate realised that he was going to have decipher everything by himself. He didn't have a clue where to start.

He was so absorbed by the artifacts in front of him that he didn't even hear his cell phone ring.

The other three stared at him, till Sully tapped him on the shoulder.

'Huh, what?' Nate muttered, waving Sully's hand away.

'The phone's ringing, it might be Elena or someone,' Sully said. At hearing Elena's name, Nate felt slightly guilty. He'd forgotten all about her. He answered the phone.

'Hey, it's Elena, how was your journey? I hope nothing bad happened,' the caller said.

Ted motioned to Nate to put the cell on speaker-phone so he could hear what was being said.

'For once I had a safe trip but uh, was there a reason for calling? Because I'm kind of busy,' Nate said. Sully shook his head at his friend, sometimes he had no tact at all.

Elena sounded a little annoyed, 'Nate, if I didn't call you I probably wouldn't hear from you in weeks. You're kinda bad at the whole communicating over long distances thing. And anyways, I thought you like might to know that I went to see the doctor today, I know its Sunday but I just had to know, and the test came back positive. I am definitely pregnant.'

Nate froze. Chloe looked a little shocked. Ted smiled and Sully rubbed his forehead with a hand.

'Uh, Nate?' Elena said.

'You were on speaker-phone,' Nate said in a small voice.

It was Elena's turn to be silent for a minute. 'Oh God, why didn't you tell me? Wait, who heard?'

'Sully, Chloe and uh, Ted,' Nate replied.

'Congratulations,' Ted said and patted Nate on the back, 'I'm sure you'll make a wonderful father.'

'I don't know about that,' Elena muttered, 'Why was I on speaker-phone?'

'Sorry,' Ted spoke before Nate could, 'I have…detained…your partner and friend for a while and I wanted to make sure that nothing was given away in this phone call.'

Elena was a little put off by his politeness, 'No, uh, don't mind me, sorry for the intrusion. I'll leave you guys to it,' she said and hung up.

A heavy, awkward silence filled the room.

'Well, that was a little…strange,' Chloe said, 'I didn't know that you and Elena were planning on having children.'

'We're not,' Nate said bitterly, 'it just happened.'

'Aww, don't say it like that,' Ted said, 'Children are the greatest gift. They're wonderful.'

Ted's exuberance made Chloe frown. He probably wanted children.

Chloe suddenly let out a strangled cry. She was _not_ meant to be thinking about whether Ted wanted children or not.

'Are you ok?' Nate asked her. She nodded mutely.

Before Ted could ask her if she was sure a guard entered the tent and leant towards Ted, whispering something in his ear. Ted stiffened and his eyes narrowed. He sent the guard on his way.

'I can't believe he's coming here. It's way too early,' he said to no one in particular and began to clear away the tea cups hurriedly. He turned to Nate and Sully, 'Do you mind rubbing a little dirt on your clothes or something, maybe look a little beat up otherwise he's not going to be happy.' Ted picked up some rope. 'Sorry, I'm going to have to tie you to the chairs.'

'Why?' Nate asked.

Ted finished tying a knot to Sully's chair, 'Because he said I had to be violent with you guys and he's gonna be angry if he finds out that I served you tea and biscuits.'

'Who is it?' Sully asked but Ted was busy tying rope around Nate and his chair.

'And remember to act surprised when he tells you his name. I wasn't suppose to tell you,' Ted said distractedly.

'Who's coming,' Chloe asked, irritated. Ted saw a shadow fall across the door of the tent.

'Phil.'

* * *

**I love the game of life…its well good…**

**I went to Uganda last year…it was a beautiful place. Funny thing though, there were no McDonalds but there was a Nandos….strange….**

**Chloe will be more Chloeish later on...right now...she seems like a lovestruck teenager or something...**

**There is a Wal-Mart thing too….it's called the 'GAME' store and they sold PS3s for 2 million Ugandan shillings…that's about £640…crazy**


	6. Bad News All Around

**Good morning!**

**In the last chapter Nate and Sully met Ted who explained the situation and then at the end Phil arrived.**

**Time for something a little different now.**

**

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Chapter 5

_Present day_

_Turkey_

Elena sat down heavily on the wooden chair. She would preferred to have a cushion but couldn't be bothered to find one.

The heat was close to unbearable and it did nothing to help her mood.

The whole morning she had been irritable and it had gotten to such a degree that people were starting to avoid her. It didn't help that no one knew where Ben and Jerry's ice cream was sold.

Elena gazed out of the window and stretched her legs a little. She wanted to see how bad her feet were and smiled ruefully when she remembered Nate's promise to give them a massage.

That had been eight months ago now.

What had she accomplished in that time? Almost nothing. It was Nate who had finished off the whole dragon teeth situation. There had been brief encounters, short spaces of time together but for some reason she usually found work that demanded her presence elsewhere. Sometimes not even in the same country.

So here she was, in Turkey, creating a report on emerging healthcare facilities and inequalities in the distribution of wealth, close to giving birth to her own child.

Elena would've taken maternity leave already if it hadn't been for her boss who said that this trip would be more beneficial since it would revolve around new families and a charity run clinic which specialised in births. That and the fact he'd threatened to fire her because she was _his_ best reporter and, by God, an unborn child wasn't getting in the way of a potentially award winning factual documentary series, even if she had lost both cameras and cameramen in the course of her career.

Elena ran a hand through her hair and her gaze shifted to the sizeable lump that was her belly. Her thoughts settled on Nate. What would he be doing now? She had woke him up with her phone call so she guessed he had gone back to sleep. Hopefully he would turn his attention to something useful like looking for a house or fixing the toilet which still hadn't been repaired in all this time.

The ancient ceiling fan in the clinic creaked as it spun and not for the first time Elena felt a little homesick.

She frowned, she shouldn't be here feeling sorry for herself. There were things to do. The sooner she finished her report the quicker she could get back to Nate, where she belonged. There was still so much to do, during her time at home she had amassed things for the baby, Nate didn't go near them but she had given him a task of his own. Namely, researching baby names, since they had decided not to know the gender of the baby that would mean a lot of searching.

That was enough to keep Nate busy while she was away. She hoped.

As Elena stood up she noticed a drip marks on the floor. She sighed thinking it was probably a water pipe leaking, there were plenty of those. Then Elena noticed that her trousers were soaking wet too, she knew she had been sweating but definitely not that much. Elena, alarmed, turned back to the chair and noticed a puddle on the seat.

Elena knew, instantly, what this was and she was utterly unprepared for it.

Her first thought was that it was too early. The baby wasn't due till another three weeks and then the panic settled in, something was wrong, this wasn't meant to be happening. It hadn't stopped, and then with horror she realised it was blood.

She was losing blood.

Legs shaking, her face pale, she tried to reach the door, in the hope of getting help because her water had broken and now she was bleeding.

She didn't make it.

It would take another twenty minutes before a member of her crew found her unconscious on the floor of her room, blood slowly pooling around her.

--

Eventually morning came and Nate jerked awake as if waking from a nightmare. Sometime during the early morning he had fallen asleep while sitting up.

Rubbing the crick in his neck, he looked around, squinting at the sunlight streaming through the blinds. Sighing he tried to remember why he'd woken like that. Did he have a nightmare? And why did he have bad feeling niggling away in the back of his head. Like something was wrong but he just hadn't found out yet.

Pushing these thoughts aside Nate climbed out of bed, tripping on a sheet and knocking the bedside table over with a foot. He cursed and hopped around holding his toe till the pain died down. He stared grimly at the damage. The box had opened and the teeth had cascaded over the bedroom floor. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Nate righted the table and plonked the clock, phone base and box on it. He picked up the nearest tooth.

It was no longer bone but flawless glass. Each point so sharp that Nate had pricked himself on more than one occasion. They had discovered that when a jawbone was destroyed any teeth remaining would become useless. Never to spawn a spartoi again.

Nate shivered at the thought of the immortal warriors. Phil was a fool for thinking he could control them. Well, he'd paid the price.

Something still nagged at him though. It was about the location of the second jawbone, he had been this close to cracking the puzzle but then as usual all hell broke loose and he, like everyone else just accepted that the second jawbone was never to be found.

Nate decided that once the whole pregnancy thing was over he might try look for it but for now he had other things to worry about.

Once he had cleared the mess he'd made and scavenged for a passable breakfast, the phone rang.

He picked it up, 'Is this Nate?' the voice asked, it sounded breathless and the line quality was poor which caused a crackle in the background.

'Yes,' Nate replied, he had a bad feeling about this, the voice was familiar.

'Oh my God, it's terrible, there was so much blood, I didn't know what to do…,' the man said in short bursts. Nate's face was ashen. He recognised the man's voice, it was Tom, one of Elena's crew members. That meant…

'Oh God, is Elena ok?' Nate asked, panic driven thoughts fuelling his imagination.

'She collapsed, the doctors are looking over her now, they said she's stable but…I don't know…she looked so…pale,' Tom explained, taking deep breaths.

Nate was gripping the phone receiver so hard that he thought he heard the plastic crack.

'I'm coming, right now,' he said and his anger flared for a moment, 'How did this happen? Wasn't anyone watching her? She's a heavily pregnant woman for crying out loud!'

Tom sounded apologetic, 'We didn't know, no one did, she'd had a check-up, Elena was cleared for travel. Something like this, no one saw it coming.'

Nate took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. It wasn't Tom's fault. If it was anyone's, it was his for not insisting she stayed home.

'Look, I'm sorry, I just…never mind…thanks for telling me,' he said, he was at loss for words.

'Nate, we'll look after her, don't worry, just take it easy. I gotta go now but I'll ring as soon as I hear anything,' Tom said after a moment of silence and hung up.

Nate stood alone in the kitchen and looked at all the unopened boxes full of baby things. He wanted to kick something. He should've been with her all this time. Elena was the love of his life and for the second time he was close to losing her.

He slammed the phone down and stood.

Nathan Drake had neither felt so alone nor lost than he did right then.

--

Far away in a dank, dim cell a man watched the rain fall outside his barred window.

He could hear a guard making his rounds, heavy rubber boots squeaking at every step. There was a pause as the warden peered through the slit in the heavy iron door. All he saw was inmate number four, curled on his bed, staring out the small window.

The guard barely held back his smirk, the new inmate hadn't settled very well in his new home and he had escorted the prisoner to the nurse on several occasions. Whatever he had done, the guard thought, he deserved it. They all did. Only the worst were kept in this isolated facility far from the prying eyes of the civilised world.

Phil heard the warden move on and let out a sigh.

He turned to the door and gazed vacantly around his small room. With some effort he moved his body around, gripping the sewn trouser leg that stopped just above the knee. So he had lost a leg, they has all thought he was finished. A goner. They were wrong. Phil would show them. Soon he would be out. It had been planned perfectly.

In the eight months of his incarceration, Phil had been planning his revenge. He acted weak in front of the others. They beat him.

Spending long weeks alone in the small prison clinic suited him just fine. It was how it was going to be if he wanted to make his plan fool proof.

He wasn't allowed any telephone calls or visits but he managed to get in touch with his contacts. Phil was a resourceful guy when he put his mind to it.

Nobody knew Phil was alive, his contacts had told him that he'd been declared dead in an accident, his fortunes given over to charity. Phil had grunted when he had heard this, he'd put that in his will as a publicity stunt. He hadn't expected to actually 'die'. But no matter, he had favours that needed cashing in. Money was no object.

It was the fact that nobody knew he was alive that was his greatest advantage. No one would know who had done it till it was already too late. Phil couldn't wait to see their faces. He remembered them so well. Victor Sullivan, Chloe Frazier, the traitor Ted Wanalulu and…ah yes the golden couple Elena Fisher and Nathan Drake.

Phil smiled when he thought of Nate, oh yes, he had something special in store for him because he knew all about Elena's assignment in Turkey and was thinking that he would pay her a little visit as soon as he was free.

Like Nate, Phil didn't really believe that the second jawbone was lost and since the fateful incident in Egypt, he was even more sure of its location. It was just a matter of time now. This time he would be prepared. This time he wouldn't fail.

Nathan Drake had told him that he had not succeeded because the spartoi couldn't be controlled. Phil scowled, he'd control them alright, all he needed was a little willpower and then he'd have it. An army of his own, he didn't want money. Phil didn't need it. He wanted power. Governments around the world would bow at his feet, or rather his immortal army's but who cared about the small details.

Phil was a man on a mission.

Suddenly a low rumble was heard. A continuous crashing sound and the occasional faint scream. The alarms blared into life. Lights dimmed and a sinister red strobe light cast an eerie light down the now empty corridors.

Phil smiled. It had started.

The guards had already moved to the area of commotion. This left Phil's operative to move without any hindrance.

There was a rattle of a lock and the door to his cell swung open soundlessly. A man stood in the doorway, tugging nervously at his shirt collar, he nodded at Phil who was leaning over to get his crutches.

'How much time do we have?' Phil asked.

The man looked around uneasily, 'Not long, we can't control that thing. The others are probably setting up the trail to lure it back to the truck.'

Phil smiled humourlessly, 'For something so strong they are incredibly dumb. You just have to trick them into doing something. Then it will be at your beck and call.'

The man seriously doubted this having witnessed its destruction first hand. They just weren't natural. He didn't say anything, though, and helping Phil to his feet, the two left via the service entrance.

Once outside a white van pulled up to them. The driver opened the back doors so Phil could get in but he shook his head.

'I want to ride up front, you can sit in the back. I want to see _it_,' he explained, his eyes flashing dangerously. The man shrugged and complied, climbing into the rear of the van.

As they drove away from the prison, Phil could see the extent of the damage that the single spartoi had caused.

The wire fence had been beaten down and a sniper tower toppled over. On one side of the main building there was a gaping, jagged hole where it had attempted to enter.

Guards and prisoners alike, wandered around, dazed. Bodies were strewn around the exercise yard, some moved, others didn't.

No one noticed the van pull away from the facility. They followed the access road for about a half mile before they caught sight of it.

Phil had seen them before, but that time it was dark. Even now it wasn't that much better, there was a thick fog, almost as if it was following the spartoi. Phil smiled at the thought, how dramatic.

From afar he couldn't see it that clearly but watched in wonder as it raised an unnaturally long arm and brought it down on a powerful light that flashed in different colours. It crumpled with ease and as if on cue another light began to flash in the distance.

The spartoi, intrigued by this, set off towards it.

Phil turned in his seat to a small grate which allowed him to speak to his operative and smiled, 'I told you: dumb as a bag of rocks.'

Now all he needed was a boat to take him North.

North to Turkey.

* * *

**I hoped you liked this…it was about time this story went somewhere….**

**Although I think it's going back in the past again…so we know what happened and stuff…I so know what I'm talking about…**

**This is a happy story by the way…I don't do sadness…nuh uh…**

**I was trying to write another poem but couldn't think of anything that rhymed with Chloe….**

**I watched The Princess and the Frog today....I miss Disney films...**


	7. No Toilet Paper

**Yo**

**Ok, so last time Elena was bleeding in Turkey, Nate was at home and Phil came up with an evil plan…**

**We're going back to the past to find out what actually happened…**

* * *

Chapter 6

_Several months ago_

Ted straightened as the tent flap opened revealing a rather rotund figure in the doorway.

Nate, Sully and Chloe stared as Phil entered.

Before them stood a squat, slightly overweight man, who had strawberry blond hair and flaky red skin.

Nate swapped glances with Sully who looked as disbelieving as he did. This was all wrong. Chloe frowned from her chair.

'I think I recognise you from somewhere…that's it! You're that guy from the commercial about weight loss!' she said eagerly. Nate took a good hard look at Phil who was a little taken aback.

'Are you sure? I think I know the one you're talking about, but it can't be him, that guy was skinny,' Nate said.

'Hey that's unfair, the commercial's two years old now…people change,' Phil defended himself, in a slightly whiny voice, Nate noted.

'Talk about falling off the wagon,' Sully commented and Phil scowled at him.

'Look, just because I endorsed a weight loss program doesn't mean I have to be skinny myself,' Phil said argued. There was silence.

'It kinda does,' Chloe said.

Phil gave a strangled cry and barked some orders. Guards poured into the tent. They dragged the three prisoners and their chairs outside. Ted followed at a distance, unsure of what was going to happen next.

'You will pay for your insolence!' Phil shouted at Sully who raised an eyebrow.

'Why just me? They were making fun of you too and what's with leaving the tent?' he replied. Phil took a deep breath, clearly his prisoners weren't going to cooperate. He was going to have to be patient and just like his therapist had told him, he closed his eyes and counted to ten.

When he opened them again he could tell that all three of them had quickly wiped the smiles from their faces. They were making fun of him. Phil gritted his teeth, he knew he shouldn't have done that advert.

'I left the tent because I'm claustrophobic,' Phil said evenly. Chloe stifled another laugh and Phil shot her a glance of pure venom. She quietened down but was still smiling. He wasn't getting anywhere. Clearly Ted hadn't been violent enough with this lot. He was going to have words with him later.

Phil pulled out his gun and just the like that the laughter in their eyes disappeared. He rolled his eyes, he should've just done this from the beginning.

'I've had enough of this nonsense,' Phil pointed the gun at Chloe, 'Tell me what I want to know Mr Drake and I won't shoot Miss Frazier.'

Nate sobered, 'Look, I don't know where the second jaw bone is, I'm gonna need more time to look at the first one.'

Phil pulled the trigger. It took every fibre of Chloe's being not to close her eyes and flinch. She was glad that she didn't because just before he pulled the trigger Ted knocked Phil's hand. The shot went wide.

'What the heck was that for?' Phil thundered. Ted didn't back down.

'Drake isn't going to deal with you if you kill the girl straight away-you need her as leverage,' he explained in a level voice. Phil grunted, taking in Ted's point.

When Phil fired, Nate's heart had leapt into his throat. This guy wasn't playing around. If he didn't think of something quickly someone was going to get hurt.

Ted, too, felt slightly rattled. Phil hadn't mentioned actually killing anybody, the man was deranged if he thought he could get away with all this. That and he was rather fond of Chloe.

Phil turned back to his captives, 'Fine, Mr Drake, you can have the jawbone and teeth but if you fail, I'm afraid Miss Frazier is going to have to pay. With her life.'

Nate let out an exasperated sigh. It was always like this, why was nothing easy? Chloe shared the same thoughts and wondered why it was always her who had to pay. Why did no one ever use Sully?

'It's not that simple,' Nate said, 'I need to see the original excavation sites and have a look for myself.'

Phil turned things over in his mind, every so often looking at the ever darkening sky, 'We'll head out tomorrow when the light is better. Right now I feel like some dinner.'

He turned away and shouting more orders to the guards, made his way to another tent. He was just about to enter when he paused as if remembering something.

'Wanalulu!' he shouted.

There was a moments silence. Ted dropped his head into his hands and groaned. He shuffled towards Phil.

'Don't tell me your surname is Wanalulu,' Nate asked, failing epically to hide the surprise from his face.

'It is, I told him not to call me that though,' Ted muttered as he passed them. Sully just shook his head, it wasn't often he was surrounded by crazy people with even crazier names.

Chloe knew her thoughts well enough to know what the next one would be.

Mrs Wanalulu….

Chloe tried to push all thoughts of the name out of her head. She was not going to be Mrs Wanalulu, she didn't even like Ted and she definitely wasn't going to marry him. Chloe did not marry people, she was a lone wolf. _Yeah, right,_ she thought, they were all being held hostage and all she could think about was Ted's damned surname.

Chloe concluded that she needed to get a life _or_ Ted. Fast.

--

_Later_

Elena paced the floor of her bedroom.

She was worried about Nate. Well, she would always worry about him but this wasn't a normal situation. He was being held hostage. Elena had a bad feeling about this and since she didn't even know where he was exactly she felt even more useless.

Of course, she could always find out by tracking his mobile or something equally high tech but something else bothered her. Did she want to find trouble? She had a baby to think about now. Was she going to put herself in deliberate danger and what would Nate say? Although, when she thought about it, Elena rarely listened to his advice anyway, much to his chagrin.

Elena sank onto the bed at a loss as to what to do. Fortunately for her though the phone began to ring and she didn't hesitate to pick it up.

'Hello?' she answered.

'Hey, it's Nate, I just wanted to say that we're all fine and things are under control…mostly. Also, I think this is gonna take some time.'

Elena's heart sank, she had a feeling it would turn out like this. 'Uh, ok then, thanks for telling me but where are you guys exactly?'

There was a brief silence where Elena assumed Nate was looking at a map or something, 'I think we're close to Lake Victoria, in a small valley somewhere, according to Ted's GPS, we're at these coordinates,' Nate explained and rattled off some figures which Elena took note of.

'What's happening there?' Elena asked, once again the mysterious Ted had come into the conversation, she still didn't understand why he was so polite or how Nate had managed to take his GPS tracker.

Nate sighed, 'Well, today we met the boss, he was called Phil.'

Elena deadpanned 'Are you kidding me?'

'Nope,' Nate replied, ' he's kinda…tubby…he was on that ad about weight loss…y'know the one… 'Get you rear in gear' and uh, what was it? Oh yeah, 'Take charge, don't be large'. Well anyways, Phil wants to make his own immortal army so he can do something with it, probably take over the world. They usually want to do that.'

Elena took her time absorbing this information. She remembered that guy on the ads quite well, she had done a report fad diets a couple years ago and his was one of them. Having done an interview with him then, she thought he was an alright kind of guy, he came across as quite charitable.

'Are you sure? The guy on that advert was stick thin,' Elena asked.

'Apparently, you don't have to follow the diet you're endorsing,' Nate replied.

'That doesn't make any sense,' Elena muttered but said, louder, 'Do you guys need help?'

'Nah, I think we're good. I don't think there's anything you can do right now,' Nate answered.

There was silence on the line and Elena grew impatient. 'Well?' she said.

'Well what?' Nate replied, genuinely confused.

'Oh brother, aren't you going to ask how I am? I'm your pregnant girlfriend!' Elena practically shouted down the phone. She thought she heard Sully wince at her tone in the background.

Good, Elena thought, at least someone is taking me seriously, it was just a shame it's the wrong person. Nate had only be gone a couple of days but Elena was already feeling the pregnancy. The extra hormones sloshing around were really taking a toll on her mood. Or maybe she was just thinking it was…Elena frowned, she really needed to research this pregnancy thing.

'Uh, I'm sorry,' Nate apologised and Elena could almost see him, rubbing the back of his head, shuffling his feet. It was an endearing sight that would have been more effective if he was actually in the room with her.

'How are you and…err…Junior?' he added and Elena sighed at first, it wasn't quite the same when you had to ask for the question. She then frowned.

'Junior?'

'It would sound bad if I called the baby 'it',' Nate replied and Elena guessed he had a fair point.

'We're fine, I think…today I played the baby some Mozart but then I realised this was useless because it doesn't have ears yet,' Elena said, thinking that 'it' would just have to do for now.

There was a series of muffled thuds followed by quiet.

'Nate? Hello?' Elena spoke but there was no answer. She was beginning to get worried when suddenly Nate spoke.

'Sorry about that, the guards were just serving dinner and I had to hide the phone,' he explained.

'Yeah, about that, how did you even get a phone?' Elena asked.

'Oh, well, you know Ted, the one who kidnapped us? He's kind of on our side, he 'accidently' left his GPS tracker here and, if that wasn't enough, he made sure we got the choc chip cookies.'

Elena was going to ask about how someone could be 'kind of' on your side when another voice spoke.

'I am incredibly sorry, but I'm going to have to cut this phone call short.'

The line went dead.

Elena stared at the phone a sense of dread growing in the pit of her stomach. She hadn't recognised the voice which meant that, possibly, someone had heard the conversation they were having.

Someone who wouldn't be too happy about it.

Without thinking, Elena booted up her laptop and Googled Nate's position.

--

Nate frowned at the young guard who had snatched the phone from his hand.

'Well that was bloody rude,' Chloe said to the him, ' I didn't even get to say hello.'

Sully agreed, 'You guys have no manners.'

The man looked a little hurt, 'What are you talking about? I apologised to her and everything.'

'You didn't even let him say good bye to his pregnant girlfriend,' Chloe added.

'Yeah, you're the worst,' Sully commented.

The guard looked a little guilty and then realised what he was there for and put on a stern expression. 'I don't care about his girlfriend, Mr Phil was clear that there was to be no communication between the prisoners and the outside world.'

'He never told us that,' Nate said. Their legs were still tied to the chair but their arms were free and this was the perfect moment to cross them and put on a haughty expression.

The guard was just about to call a friend for help when Ted walked in. The guard looked a little smug at this. 'The prisoners were talking to someone on this phone,' he reported happily and gave the phone to Ted. Sully gave him a look that said 'dirty little snitch' but was actually happy it was Ted who was on their side.

Ted had never seen this guard before and decided to go with the tough talk and flattering, the new recruits always fell for those

'Well, we can't have that, can we…err..Peter…,' Ted said, reading the name tag on the guard's pocket, 'I'm going to teach them a lesson one by one and by the end of it they won't want to make a phone call again. Ever. Well done for catching them, I knew it was good idea hiring you, I'll put a good word in for you with Phil.'

The guard almost wet himself with excitement. He was going to get a promotion and couldn't wait to tell his ma. She'd be so proud of him. Ted dismissed him and in his enthusiasm to write a letter home, forgot that he was actually abandoning his post.

Ted rubbed his hands together, 'Well that bought us some time,' he said handing the phone back to Nate who tucked it away safely.

'Are you sure it's ok to leave us untied?' Nate asked, 'We were lucky that guy was so green he didn't even realise but next time we might not be so lucky.'

'Most of the guards are alright,' Ted said, 'they think Phil's a little crazy, and since you're allowed to examine the jawbone and teeth it doesn't matter if you're tied up or not. And anyways, you're out numbered, you couldn't escape even if you wanted to.'

Sully grinned, 'You don't even wanna go there. Nate is pretty good at getting out of these situations.'

'That may be so, but Phil is a little different,' Ted replied, 'trust me when I say that he's not someone you want to be against.'

Chloe snorted, dipping a cookie in her tea , 'He's some washed out diet guy, how bad could he be?'

Ted looked at her for a moment and something flashed in his eyes. Chloe would have noticed if she wasn't busy drinking her tea, 'Earlier today, he would've killed you. Phil isn't the brightest crayon in the box. He will do something without thinking about it,' Ted said slowly and Chloe was silent.

Nate and Sully exchanged a look and then, very obviously, stared at Chloe who was unnerved by this attention.

'What's up with you guys?' she asked. There was much eyebrow wiggling from Sully and a lot of head gesturing from Nate. Chloe sighed and threw her hands in the air.

'Fine, fine, Ted, thank you, for saving my life,' she muttered.

If Ted was pleased at this, he didn't show it but turned to Nate.

'So, have you got anywhere with the jawbone?' he asked and Chloe felt relief as the subject changed.

Nate shook his head and picked the box of dragon teeth up, 'There are etchings on the underside of the lid but I won't be able to tell what they are unless I make a rubbing of them or something, but there's something else.'

The way Nate said the last part made Ted lean forward a little. It sounded important.

'What is it?' he asked.

'I need the toilet,' Nate said flatly.

'I thought you were going to say something a lot more interesting,' Chloe said and Ted nodded in agreement. Sully just looked bemused.

'Y'know I wouldn't mind taking a leak either,' he said tactfully. Any developments that ensued from the two remaining occupants of the tent would hopefully amuse him for some time.

Ted stuck his head out of the tent and called over a group of soldiers. Untying Nate and Sully, Ted handed them over to the guards who took them outside.

There was an uncomfortable silence in tent. Ted whistled tunelessly and Chloe bore holes into the table with her stare. She had shot Sully a withering look when he had left. He had just winked back. As if she didn't know what he was doing. Tsk, _men_, she thought, all this just because she had ignored Sully's own advances.

While trying very hard not to look at Ted, Chloe noticed that she too needed to use the facilities. Or maybe she just wanted to get the hell out of that tent. Just as she was about to say something, Ted did too and this started the whole conversation about letting the other person speak first and the other insisting the same thing.

'Ladies first,' Ted said.

'Which is why you should go first,' Chloe shot back and Ted smiled.

'Ah, Chloe, you wound me, but no, go ahead.'

Chloe grunted, this was going nowhere and she really did need the toilet now, 'I need the loo.'

Ted hid his grimace well, that wasn't what he was expecting but complied anyway. Crouching he enjoyed their closer proximity and untied the cords that bound Chloe to the chair.

Before he could say anything, Chloe stood abruptly and took a tentative step forward.

She fell over flat on her face.

Ted didn't bother hiding his grimace this time. 'I would've helped you,' he said.

'I don't need your help,' Chloe said, her voice muffled. Strange, Ted, thought, it sounded like she was laughing. That or choking, he couldn't decide.

Rolling over, Chloe couldn't hide her laughter. Ted was stupefied.

'Are you ok?' he asked.

'Yes, it just feels so weird. You know, having dead legs….such a weird feeling, kinda numb but not,' Chloe rambled, feeling both her legs, trying to rub some life into them. Ted sat back on his haunches and scratched his chin.

'Do you want help? I do a good massage,' he offered.

Chloe snatched her legs away. She may have been laughing but she wasn't going to let just any man touch her, she had more class than that. 'No, I can do that myself, thank you,' she muttered.

Without knowing what he was doing himself, Ted leant forward and brushed some dirt from Chloe's cheek. She froze. Her eyes met his.

'_What_ do you think you're doing?' She said in a cold, no nonsense tone. Ted wanted to wince, that sounded like the kind of voice someone would use right before decking them in the face or something equally violent.

'I don't know,' he murmured and breaking eye contact, stood quickly, brushing his clothes down as he did so.

Chloe was glad to get the feeling back in her legs and stood, without, thank the Lord, the help of Ted, who had moved a respectful distance away.

Nate and Sully returned, the guards escorting them nodded to Ted who pointed to Chloe. They seemed to get the message and led her out. Sully sat on his chair.

'Anything interesting happen while we were gone?' he asked. Ted was gazing at the tent flap and had to be prodded by Nate to bring him back to the real world.

'Huh? Oh, not really…Chloe needed the loo,' he said in an offhand way. Sully got the feeling that he wasn't saying everything.

'And?' he encouraged. Ted gave him a flat stare.

'Nothing.'

Sully sighed. He had been hoping for a little more than that but figured there would be more opportunities later on.

Chloe, on the other hand was having a quiet think. Sitting in the dark porta-loo wasn't really where she wanted to do her thinking but she guessed it would have to do.

Ted confused her. It was weird, she always knew where she stood with guys. Nate and Sully both she had figured out but Ted was new and, on the whole, very different from her friends.

For now, Chloe decided she would ignore him, he would give up his interest soon enough or so Chloe hoped. After this whole charade was over maybe she would rethink but she needed to be objective here.

Smiling at herself and feeling a whole lot better, Chloe reached for the toilet roll.

Her hand touched an empty dispenser.

There was no toilet paper left.

* * *

**I realised after writing this that not much happened but I didn't want to make the chapters exceptionally long…oh well…**

**I didn't come up with those weight loss slogans and neither did Phil…**

**Chloe is gonna be normal now...I think it's weird when my leg goes dead, same with pins and needles and sometimes I do laugh…Elena will appear…she's not gonna let Nate suffer alone…**

**The next chapter should be getting along with things**

**I always check toilets before I use them….I hate getting caught out of toilet paper**

**I have started writing to the Bayonetta music now…it gets stuck in my head…it is too good….so is the game...I dunno but maybe because I'm a girl but when I first played the demo…I was a little surprised…that game is weird…everything seems to be innuendo but I like it so I guess it's ok. It's nice to have a female protagonist who seems unnaturally strong for once…**


	8. Sweaty Men Hard At Work

**Yo**

**Stuff happens in this chapter…more so than the last one…**

**Anyways, in the last chapter we met Phil and Elena got worried and now the team head to the excavation sites…**

**We're still in the past…**

* * *

Chapter 7

'It was here, I'm sure of it,' Chloe pointed at the ground before them. The morning sun was high in the sky and the sound of bird calls could be heard. After a fairly uneventful night Chloe, Nate and Sully had been taken to, since it was closer, the second excavation site to find out what they could. Phil had stayed behind, saying something about beauty sleep. He had ensured however, that there were enough guards to make sure they didn't escape. They had found nothing in the area, much to the group's annoyance. Another half hour drive took them to the first site where the jawbone had been found.

Ted, who had traded his black jumpsuit for washed out jeans and a white shirt, frowned, 'Are you sure? How can you tell?'

Chloe didn't look at him but said, 'Well, there's a big hole in the ground for one.'

They hadn't been here very long but Ted was already feeling irritable, he wasn't sure why but he put his money on the heat which was starting to get unbearable. He wanted things to go as fast as they could. He turned to Nate, 'Alright, I'll untie you now but Sully and Chloe are staying here.'

Nate jumped down and brought out the rubbing he had made earlier. It looked like some sort of map with compass points marked on in Ancient Greek, Nate couldn't be sure but judging by the amount of detail it held, he guessed it must be of a specific, small area.

The hole was over two meters deep and was of a size that Sully would said was perfect for a grave. Nate shuddered at the thought and looked down. It was clear that as soon as Chloe had found the jawbone she had stopped digging and indeed her spade was still there.

Stepping on ledge, Nate was just able to clear the height of the pit. He looked around for a landmark that resembled something on the map. Anything to give him reference as to where he was. There wasn't and Nate stepped off in frustration, stamping his feet down. What had he expected? The jawbone and teeth were over 2500 years old, there was nothing here that could be that old. They were surrounded by dusty plains with the occasional rocky outcrop. The fact that the writing was Greek also meant there was a chance that the map wasn't even from this area.

Nate was close to giving up hope when he noticed something sticking out of the dirt at his feet, it looked like a stick. He bent down and scraped away some more dirt to reveal more of the dull white solid. As soon as he realised what it was, he continued to dig with renewed fervour.

The skeleton didn't take long to uncover and when he was done, Nate called Ted. He peered down and glanced at the skeleton.

'Who's your friend?' he asked. Nate crouched down and looked over his find.

'I'd say he was some kinda tomb robber, North African in origin possibly, his clothes aren't in the Ancient Greek style, I'm guessing this guy came along several hundred years later than the jawbone, it was probably already here.'

Ted frowned, 'I'm not gonna even ask how you knew that.'

'The problem is, why did he come here? Did he know the bone was here?' Nate pondered, and seeing something glinting within the ribcage, he reached inside. Ted looked in disgust.

'I can't believe you're touching that thing,' he muttered and Sully shook his head.

'Nate would touch anything if he thought it had treasure on it,' he said.

'That just sounds wrong,' Chloe said. Ted agreed but said nothing. There was a triumphant whoop from Nate and the other three looked down.

'What is it?' Sully asked. Nate held up and small scroll encased in a thin gold tube.

'It's double sided. One is a map of this area, it looks similar to the one from the box of teeth and on the other side there's a ground plan or something. It looks like it's for a tomb or something,' he explained.

A ladder dropped down and Ted motioned for him to climb up. Nate squinted in the bright light and immediately missed the shade the pit offered. Ted took the scroll from Nate before he could say anything.

'Careful with that,' Nate chided, 'It's old.'

'Do you think that this is a map of this area?' Ted asked holding the paper gingerly. Nate nodded.

'It makes sense. I just can't find our position, none of the landmarks on the map exist anymore,' he added, while he was talking, he had been looking around and noticed something strange about the rocky outcrops.

There were only four and they seemed to be an equal distance apart.

Ted waved a hand in front of Nate's eyes, 'Yoo hoo, anyone there?'

Nate blinked, 'I need to see an aerial picture of this area.'

Chloe frowned, 'Where do you think you're going to get one of those.'

Ted spoke something into his radio. There was silence. Nate thought he heard something, a droning sound. It was getting closer and louder.

Sully scanned the sky, 'Is that what I think it is?'

Nate looked up too. The sound was clear now and as if on cue a black mass sped through the sky towards them.

'You have a helicopter?'Chloe asked flatly. She was about to ask why they hadn't just flown everywhere instead of the uncomfortable car rides but decided she didn't want to talk to Ted anymore.

The helicopter quickly reached the group and circled them. Ted pulled out a flat box from his back pocket. He turned its screen on and handed it to Nate.

'It's a monitor, there's a camera on the helicopter, you should be able to see the area we are in,' Ted explained and Nate felt a little relieved. At least he didn't have to find some high vantage point to climb and nearly break his neck on.

Just as he'd thought, the rocky outcrops marked out a perfect square, like the shape of the maps he had.

'Ted, which way is North?' he asked and after checking his GPS, Ted pointed in a direction. Nate set off, monitor in hand.

The guards followed warily not knowing what to expect. Ted motioned for the guards holding Chloe and Sully to stay where they were and went after Nate.

Nate stopped about a hundred yards from the skeleton and looked at scroll, map and monitor. Ted looked over his shoulder.

'What is it?' he asked, curious.

'On the scroll, somebody's made a mark here, where we're standing, but on the rubbing I made the mark isn't there. I'm guessing the robber made the mark himself so he knew where to go. Whatever there is to find, it's gotta be here,' Nate explained, pointing at the differences in maps. This was good enough for Ted who ordered the men to start digging.

'How deep?' One asked and Nate frowned.

'As deep as the skeleton over there, maybe even deeper.'

The guard sighed, it was hot and none of them wanted to be doing hard labour.

'If only we had some dynamite or something,' Ted muttered, running a hand through his hair. Nate raised an eyebrow.

'You have a helicopter but not dynamite? All bad guys have dynamite!' he said and Ted smiled ruefully.

'We're not used to being bad guys-.' Ted froze, a sudden thought occurring to him. He said something into his radio. The helicopter moved away and turned to face them. Nate's eyes widened.

'Are you going to do, what I think you're going to do?' he asked, starting to walk backwards, away from the area. Ted followed.

'Yup, I'm going to have the helicopter blast a hole into the ground,' Ted confirmed and waved the other men back.

'What if you destroy what we're looking for?' Nate asked.

Ted considered this, 'I don't know…I just hope it doesn't.'

Nate put a hand to his forehead and huffed. There could be something important down there.

Chloe and Sully watched from a distance away, their hands cuffed behind them. Sully had been hoping that Chloe would dish the dirt on what happened between her and Ted last night but she hadn't said a word.

'So Chloe…anything interesting happen last night?' Sully asked tactfully. Chloe gave him a baleful glare.

'No, although…,' she began.

'Yeah?' Sully encouraged, maybe now she would tell him.

'I was wondering what happened to your luggage,' Chloe finished. Sully's mouth hung open. In hindsight he should've realised this was going to happen. Chloe would never tell him anything. No matter how many times he pleaded innocence, she still didn't believe him when he said that he'd 'accidently' walked in on her having a shower. It could've happened to anyone. She just did't seem to get that.

'I don't know,' Sully spluttered but she did have a good point. He didn't even remember picking it up from the airport.

Chloe smiled inwardly, at least Sully was thinking about something else now.

Suddenly, without much warning, there was a colossal explosion. Not far from them dust erupted from the ground as a fountain before dispersing as a wave. It enveloped them immediately.

A moment later it passed leaving Chloe and Sully spluttering and coughing in its wake. 'I didn't see that one coming,' Sully said to no one in particular. Chloe shook herself down, a fine layer of dust falling off her, she glanced at Sully and snorted with laughter.

'You look like you've just had the most ridiculous fake tan,' she said and Sully frowned, red dust cracking on his face.

'Well, so do you, but what even happened?' he replied.

One of the guards removed his sunglasses, its shape marked by the dust, 'While you two were talking, the helicopter bombed the ground over there,' he explained.

In the distance they saw someone wave to them and Ted's voice crackled over the radio, ordering to come over there.

The group examined the small crater which was still smoking. The hole was about a meter deep and Ted was just about to order another barrage when Nate shook his head.

'If you do that again, you're gonna destroy something important, just get the others to dig,' Nate said and Ted looked a little put out.

'I feel kinda bad making them do that in this heat,' he explained and Sully gave an exasperated sigh.

'You really do suck at being the bad guy,' he muttered. Ted felt a little hurt but ordered the guards all the same. They grumbled in protest but held a higher respect for their leader when he joined in the digging too.

Chloe rolled her eyes, keeping her gaze away from a sweaty Ted doing hard work. Nate and Sully stood to one side.

'Aren't you going to help?' she asked. The two laughed as if she were crazy.

'No way! It's actually a relief that we don't have to do this ourselves, that's what usually happens,' Nate said.

'You shouldn't be complaining,' Sully added with a grin gesturing to the men labouring away, 'the view must be quite good.'

Chloe ignored him.

For the better part of an hour the guards dug. They rotated in shifts, taking water breaks before returning to the monotonous work. At some point one of the guards brought out baby wipes and proceeded to clean the dust from his face. The others noticed and soon he was distributing the wipes to the whole group.

'I don't actually know what to say,' Nate said at length, discarding his now orange tissue.

'I know what you mean,' Chloe agreed. Armed guards with baby wipes? She wondered what would be next.

'It's a good idea, the baby wipes, they make you feel very fresh,' Sully said and the other two stared at him. He shrugged, 'What? I'm only telling it how I feel it.'

'Keep that to yourself next time,' Ted muttered as he joined the group at the lip of the crater. His shirt, now a light orange from the dust, was only half buttoned and Chloe, not for the first time that day, found herself looking at her feet.

'Did you find anything?' Nate asked and Ted shook his head wearily, a bead of sweat running down the side of his face.

'Nope. At this rate, I don't think we're going to find anything,' he grumbled, as he finished speaking there was a shout from one of the guards.

All four turned and hurried over. The guard who was standing at the bottom of a sizeable pit gestured at the ground before him.

'We found another skeleton,' he said without preamble and Nate climbed down a ladder to examine the body. The dust was thicker down here, the weight of the steep walls pressed against him but Nate gave it little thought as he crouched next to the old bones.

His lips curved into a smile as his suspicions were confirmed. The skeleton, as far as Nate could tell, was dressed in the same style of clothes as the first and it too had a small golden tube resting near it.

As he'd thought, the tube contained a copy of the map, marked with a dot at their precise location. Nate looked around, he was close, this much he knew but where to start looking…

'Hey, what you got?' Ted asked, sliding down the last few rungs of the ladder. Nate blinked, his thoughts brought back to the present.

'Same as the first skeleton, I'm guessing they were buddies,' he explained and held up the scroll. Ted looked with interest.

'They different?'

Nate unrolled it, 'Identical.'

Ted tapped his chin thoughtfully and put his back to a wall, leaning casually, 'So they were together, clearly the other guy got further before he snuffed it, but what killed them? Can you tell?'

Nate frowned, 'I'm not a coroner. I don't know how they died, but there's nothing obvious like knives in his ribcage or anything, he could've just tripped and broken his neck. '

'Hey, I was just asking, you seemed to know a lot about them,' Ted said holding his palms up. The guard who initially found the skeleton looked the body over.

'I used to be a coroner's assistant when I was a student and I don't want to speak out of turn or anything, but none of his bones are broken, in fact he's in pretty good condition, by the way the body is situated I'd say he'd just collapsed,' he said slowly.

Nate was silent for a moment, letting his imagination run loose. There could be tons of reasons why this man had died without his bones breaking. But why here? What was so special about this place that it was marked on the maps.

Ted, unintentionally, solved this question when the wall he was leaning on, collapsed. Through the cloud of dust, Nate could make out an opening to a cave like structure. When the particles had settled, Ted sat up, rubbing his head.

'That hurt,' he muttered and Nate clucked sympathetically.

'You want me to kiss it better?' he asked and Ted played along.

'Yes mummy.'

There was a disgusted tut behind them, 'If you've finished with your weird male bonding, can we go search the cave? You're grown men for crying out loud!'

The two men looked around to find a scowling, hand-cuffed Chloe standing before them.

'How'd you get down the ladder?' Ted asked, standing up. Behind her, Sully was moaning about his stiff, aged knees as he scrambled down the ladder.

'I jumped and Sully took the long way,' she explained and Ted looked at the top of the hole and down again, that was quite a distance but didn't say anything. Instead he chose to be silently admiring.

Once Sully was cuffed again, the group examined the opening Ted had made. It sloped downwards via a set of rough-hewn steps that had been cut into the hard rock beneath. The daylight barely penetrated the darkness within and Chloe asked for a torch to be brought down.

The guard looked at her nonplussed. Ted sighed.

'She means flashlight,' he said and the guard nodded in understanding.

'They go to accent lessons but don't even know what a torch is?' Chloe muttered.

'Hey, now you know why that guy offered you his pants this morning when you said you didn't have any clean ones.'

'I was clearly talking about underwear,' Chloe said, 'All you people are the same, I went to Vegas last year and stayed in Planet Hollywood. They give out free torches with every room but I didn't get one so I went to the front desk and asked for one and the guy looked at me like I was from the moon. It wasn't till the guy behind me said 'I think she means flashlight' did the guy understand.'

There was silence for a moment and Nate said, 'I think you were just unlucky.'

Before their riveting conversation could be continued the guard returned with a set of…uh… light emitting devices.

As they passed the crumbling walls of the tunnel, the air became heavier and warmer.

'How deep is this thing?' Sully grouched as his knees clicked in protest.

'You ok old man?' Nate asked jokingly but Sully just gave him a dirty look.

'You wait twenty years, kid, and we'll see who's laughing,' he muttered.

Ted, who was leading the group, held out a hand and they came to a stop. Another two skeletons later and they were at the bottom of the winding staircase. It opened out onto flat rock, the air instantly felt lighter and cooler, the area was so dark that they couldn't actually see anything.

'I don't have any flares,' Ted said quietly, his voice oddly echoing.

'Well if this isn't like a horror film,' Chloe murmured flashing her lamp around the group's faces. One of the guards eyes' darted around nervously and pulled at his jumpsuit collar. In the eerie silence their footsteps were deafening. It was impossible to see more than a few feet in front of them.

Finally, Ted told them to stop, 'This is silly, I can't tell where we're going at all, isn't there something we can light?'

Nate aimed his light towards the staircase they had just come from and went a little closer. Next to the opening, carved into the wall, was a deep linear groove. It was parallel to the ground and about a meter high. Nate traced it's route using his torch but lost sight of it in the thick shadow. He guessed it followed the wall round.

'I think I found something,' he called and the others turned their attention to him.

'What is it?' Chloe asked. Nate put his hand into the groove, his fingertips brushed something rough.

Sniffing his fingers he said, 'Smells kinda like charcoal, weird…and kinda sweet, Sully pass me a light.'

Sully complied and Nate lit the loose material in the groove and it instantly caught. Bright orange flame raced from where Nate had held the lighter and they watched, transfixed, as the light spread throughout the room.

Up, down, left, then up again and right, Chloe's eyes ached from trying to follow the fire's path around the chamber. The groove split and wove its way into intricate shapes around all four walls.

In no time at all, the walls were brightly lit, and the flames travelled along a single groove to the other side of the tunnel entrance. There was enough light to see now and what a sight it was.

The tunnel had ended and opened out into a vast chamber, roughly rectangular in shape, its ceiling so high that when Nate looked up he couldn't even see it. The room was impressive, yes, but its contents were even more fascinating.

Greek statues, carved from both red sandstone and creamy marble contrasting starkly with each other, dotted the room. Sully would have guessed there were a hundred or so of varying sizes and shapes. He thought one of them might look good in his garden and was about to say so when Chloe gasped.

'Look at that,' she said pointing. Nate followed her gaze and could just make out a hulking silhouette in the distance. He set off towards it, the others following in the dim light.

Nate froze once he could make out the shape.

Before him stood a colossal Ancient Greek temple made from the deepest red stone. Its triangular pediment rested upon thick columns, depicting the triumphs of Gods and mortals alike. The wooden roof had long since rotted away but still made a lasting impression.

Nate whistled, 'Look at this thing, wow. We were looking for answers and boy did we get them.'

'We hit the mother load,' Sully laughed and Chloe stared, at loss for words. She thought it posed more questions than answers.

Ted felt a sense of awe that comes about when you didn't do this sort of thing often and at the same time felt a little sad because now things would have to get serious again.

'I think I should call Phil now,' he said resignedly.

--

Phil took his time arriving and losing patience, Nate and the others began searching the temple for anything that would serve as clues to the whereabouts of the second jawbone. Light was easier to come by here, placed around the temple were torches and old candles with incense which Nate recognised from the tinder that he'd found in the groove by the tunnel.

The main room of the chamber was empty save for a simple stone altar with an ornatley carved bowl on top of it and a forbidding looking statue that reached the rotting rafters. Nate stepped up to the altar and ran his hand down the grooved surface around the bowl, he waved Ted over and held up his torch.

'Hey, look at this, the stone has been carved in the shape of the jawbones and boxes of teeth. They were probably kept here, this was what the robbers were after!' Nate explained excitedly.

'Yeah, but they're not here now. The robbers could've taken them anywhere,' Ted said.

'We know that some of them didn't make it very far, that's why Chloe was able to find the jawbone and teeth relatively close by,' Nate said, 'If we looked a little better, I'm sure we'd have found a skeleton with the first box of teeth.'

Slowly, things were starting to come together for Nate. The jawbones and teeth are kept in this temple for a couple thousand years. Later some a group of robbers loot the place, having found out where the temple was. They find it, take the goods and then…die?

Nate frowned, there was more to this than just that. For some reason not all the robbers had gotten away.

A call from the back of the temple broke his train of thought.

In the small antechamber, originally used by priests to keep the temple gold, was a wall covered in mosaic. Chloe and Sully were already there.

The mosaic was spectacular, as old as the temple but it hadn't faded. It depicted a crude map of what seemed to be Greece and Africa. The countries were in a sandy yellow and the Mediterranean a deep blue. A thin line of blue tile ran from the top of where Egypt was and carried on in a dizzying path to somewhere in the African interior. Where the line ended, there was a large circle of dark blue tile. Next to this was series of black tiles that formed a square.

The group was silent and Nate's mind went into overdrive as he struggled to find answers. Finally at some point, Nate planted fist in his palm.

'I've got it!' he shouted happily.

'You have?' Chloe said, raising an eyebrow.

'Yeah, it was easy,' Nate replied and was just about to explain how easy it was when a voice interrupted him.

'Just get on with it!'

Nate could recognise that whiny voice in a crowded room, it was that distinctive. Heads turned and Ted suppressed a groan. Phil stood a little way behind them, shining a bright flashlight at Nate's face. He didn't look very happy either and Ted had a feeling it had something to do with the fact that his prisoners were freely moving around with minimal violence.

'Ted, I thought I told you to be firm with these people. You can't trust them. I don't think you're doing a very good job, maybe I'll call Emily's doctor and tell him that the anonymous donor wants to withdraw his financial aid.'

Ted went still.

'That was a low blow,' Sully muttered and Phil shot him a dirty look. Sully went quiet.

'Well?' Phil asked and Ted sighed wearily. He gave the orders and the three prisoners were restrained, the cuffs tighter than they were before.

The room was silent, the only sound to be heard was the quiet crackling of the torches' flames.

Phil rubbed his hands together gleefully, 'Right, now, Mr Drake, please tell me what you have figured out.'

Chloe butt in, 'Nate, you know you're having this kid, right? Do you know what you're gonna call it?'

Phil gaped, his mouth hanging open.

'Uh, no, I don't even know if it's a boy or girl, how am I going to pick out a name?' Nate said, he hadn't thought about the baby in a long time. His thoughts flashed wistfully on Elena for a second.

'Mr Drake, your attention, please,' Phil tried again to no avail.

'Just to let you know, if you call it Francis, I am never going to talk to you again,' Chloe stated flatly.

'Just because he's my ancestor doesn't mean I'm going to name my kids after him,' Nate said. Phil balled his fists.

'Hey! Listen to me!' he shouted but Sully wasn't having any of it.

'I'd rather your kid be called Francis than be lumbered with the name _Phil_,' he advised and Phil scowled at him. Chloe nodded vigorously in agreement.

'Right, there aren't many names that are worse than _Phil_,' she said.

Phil knew he was being mocked. His prisoners were acting childish and they were doing it very well. It meant something when your own prisoners wouldn't listen to you. They were undermining his authority, a nasty thought in the back of his head said that he probably didn't have any in the first place.

Ted couldn't help but smile. They were sticking up for him, albeit in a weird way and they were probably going to be punished, nonetheless, it made Ted feel a little better.

Phil brought out his gun again and the prisoners went deathly quiet, it took all of his restraint not to just shoot them right now.

'Ok, I'm losing my patience,' his voice was strained, 'Now. Mr Drake, if you would explain, anymore antics and I shoot Miss Frazier in the knee.'

Chloe frowned, why her knee? Sully's knees were already past their sell by date, why didn't he shoot them?

'Ok, ok, nobody needs to get shot,' Nate muttered, 'I'm guessing you know about Cadmus and Jason using the teeth?'

Phil nodded.

'Right, well after they used them and the teeth respawned, Jason was told by Zeus, king of the gods, to hide them away because the spartoi were too dangerous. Nobody knew where they were hidden but think about it. Jason had to hide the jawbones where no one, conceivably, could reach them. Now back then, the Greek Empire spanned over Greece, parts of Turkey and only northern Egypt, mostly. So how did they end up here? Well, we're close to Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile.'

Chloe gasped as realised what Nate was getting at. Nate looked at her and nodded.

'The Greeks didn't know much about Africa and never went below the Sahara, but the Nile went on further than that. Much further. I bet Jason realised this too and decided to follow the Nile back to its source, wherever he ended up would be a good place to hide the jawbones because it wasn't part of the Ancient Greek world and if he ever got lost on his travels, all he had to do was keep close to the river. Look at the blue squiggly line on the mosaic, that's probably how they saw the Nile.'

'That's it? You didn't say anything about the location of the second jawbone,' Phil said at length.

'Well the robbers came after but not in a time where there were cars or planes. Their clothes were North African, they probably followed the river too, it was the only way to travel in those days.'

Phil pondered this for a moment, 'So the jawbone could be anywhere down the Nile?'

Nate nodded.

'Do you have any idea where?' Phil pressed and Nate shook his head.

Phil let out a frustrated grunt. He needed results, he had put way too much effort into this project. There was only one way to make things go according to plan.

Taking aim, he pulled the trigger.

He didn't miss.

* * *

**That was a long chapter…yikes…**

**Ok…the whole story about Jason wasn't true…at all…**

**That thing about Planet Hollywood is true-I went there two years ago and the guy didn't have a clue what a torch was…****I know Chloe is Australian but I wanted someone to bring up the differences in Enlgish…**

**I'm not sure what's going to happen now…I need to come up with a reason why the robbers died…I only remembered the about the luggage during this chapter...I'm gonna have to fix that too-I've only just started this story and I'm already making plot holes...damn**

**I don't know about baby names either…Matt is a good name-if it was a boy…I dunno what names would suit Nate's kid…**

**Any ideas?**

**Thanks for reading!**


	9. Stitch Me Hard, Stitch Me Good

**Yo**

**Ok, last time, the group found a temple and then Phil got angry and shot someone…still in the past...sorry**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 8

'_Elena Fisher, calling Elena Fisher, if you could please report to the passenger services desk.'_

Elena frowned, she had barely stepped off the plane in Uganda when the speaker system announced that staff were looking her.

Utterly confused, she made her way towards the service desk. A young official looked up when she approached. The woman smiled.

'Are you Elena Fisher?' she asked. Elena nodded and the attendant beamed, 'We have found some of your luggage.'

'I haven't lost any luggage,' Elena replied, perplexed. The woman's smile dimmed a little.

'Are you sure? Somebody didn't reclaim their luggage yesterday and I saw your name on today's flight roster, it's the same as the tag,' she explained and turning around, she dug into a pile of lost baggage and expertly pulled out a black suitcase. Elena grimaced. That was her bag, Nate had taken it with him for the trip and evidently forgotten to claim it himself. Sighing she took the heavy luggage from the woman.

'It is mine, sorry, somebody borrowed it, their flight was before my one but I guess they didn't pick it up,' Elena explained and the woman waved a hand.

'It doesn't matter, I just have to get rid of some of this stuff,' she said and then, leaning forward as if what she was going to say was highly secret, 'The person who gives back the most luggage gets a bonus. You see anything that might be yours or anything that you would want?'

Elena smiled at the woman's honesty and took a look at the unassuming bags piled behind the desk. She thought she saw something that looked very similar to the old carpet bag Sully usually lugged around. Men, Elena thought to herself, so engrossed in an adventure they forget about the stuff that matters. She wondered if they brushing their teeth every morning and night.

Having pointed the bag out, Elena signed for the two pieces of luggage and dragged all of them, including her own to the arrivals lounge. Not far from the security kiosk there was a set of storage lockers and Elena checked their bags in and received a key in return.

The day was just warming up when Elena stepped out of the airport. She hadn't booked a hotel because, for once, she hadn't planned that far ahead. There were too many unknowns. Research had told her that Nate was being held in a small valley in the middle of nowhere, not far from Lake Victoria. A car approaching would be seen immediately from above and Elena decided that going in at night was a better idea. That meant she had plenty of time to meet her contact who would take her to the location under the cover of darkness.

A horn beeped in the distance and Elena could just about make someone waving to her. A local by the name of Andrew, born and raised in Kampala, first met Elena when she was reporting on the whereabouts of important resistance leaders in the north of the country. He had been her driver and over her stay they had bonded quickly, more often than not while driving at speed when they had gotten too close to a raiding party. It was during these times that Elena had come to trust his driving skills, instincts and more importantly, judgement.

Elena gave him a quick hug and brought him up to speed as they cruised along the highway, windows open and radio blaring.

Andrew clicked his tongue and shook his head as he twitched the wheel to avoid one of the numerous potholes. 'This Phil. He is bad news,' he began, his English accented but clear, 'I did some digging, he gave big donations to the government and they let him bring in guns and helicopters. The authorities aren't going to help you.'

Elena had been afraid of this, the authorities were never on their side.

'Can you take me to this place, though?' she asked, pointing to a hurriedly drawn cross on a map from her rucksack. Andrew sighed.

'It shouldn't be too hard but I'd rather not. Something bad happens and we're stuck. If we lose this car, there isn't another village for eighty miles.'

Elena took out a phone and waved it at him, 'Yeah, but this satellite phone should be handy.'

'Trust me, you don't want to be waiting for help to come in the middle of nowhere. It's a hostile environment, especially if we have bad guys on our backs.'

Elena thought over this for a moment and came to a conclusion, 'We need a plan and some firepower.'

'Well, we're halfway there,' he gestured at the driver's seat armrest and moved his own arm so Elena could open it. Inside, nestled two gleaming handguns. Elena raised an eyebrow.

'Is this all you have?' she asked and Andrew looked at her grinning.

'Wait till you see the trunk.'

--

There was only one word going through Chloe's mind when she hit the floor.

'FUCK!'

Her shout rang true and clear around the chamber.

Nate nearly crumpled himself when he saw Chloe collapse and he had never been so happy to hear her voice, even if she was swearing at full volume.

Chloe winced, her leg was on fire, the pain nauseating. Blood seeped through her trousers from a ragged, raw hole in her thigh.

Luckily, it seemed, the bullet had passed right through but that didn't make her feel any better. Tears welled up at the corner of her eyes but she refused to let them fall. It occurred to Chloe that she hadn't actually been shot properly before. Shot at, for sure, but actually taking a hit, that was new. And definitely not pleasant.

With her hands tied behind her back, it was impossible to right herself and she writhed in pain.

Ted wanted to kill.

He had stood a little distance away from Phil and now as he stared at the sick, depraved man in front of him, he wanted to wring his neck in one swift movement. He probably would've enjoyed it too.

She couldn't even defend herself, Ted thought, stepping towards Chloe. Phil watched but didn't stop him.

'Now, Mr Drake, I want you to tell me where to look,' Phil said calmly, as if he hadn't just shot someone in the leg. Nate turned to his captor, pale and sweating. He hoped Chloe was alright.

'Look, I don't know. Why did you do that? I told you everything I know,' Nate shouted angrily. Sully nearly growled. Phil shook his head.

'That's not good enough. I need a location and I want it now. The Nile is the longest river in the world and I need you to narrow this location down!' Phil ordered, he aimed at Sully, who visibly stiffened, 'Or this time it's the old man.'

'Watch who're you're calling 'old man',' Sully retorted, barely restraining the venom in his voice.

Phil took another shot, missing on purpose but not by much. Sully swore he could actually feel the air shift as the bullet whizzed past his head and embedded itself in the mosaic behind them. It would take more than this to get Nate to beg but he could still go for a deal.

'Fine, just give me more time, we only just got here,' Nate said calmly, the polar opposite of what he was actually feeling. Phil lowered his pistol and smiled smugly. He had Nate in his hands now. The man would be so scared for his friends he wouldn't dare cross him. Phil felt he was getting somewhere. Look who's making fun of who now, he thought.

By now Ted had applied a simple field dressing to Chloe's wound but it wasn't enough. He voiced his concerns, 'We need to get back to the camp, there are better medical supplies back there.'

Chloe's face was grey and although Ted had assured her she wasn't going to die, it certainly didn't feel that way. She wasn't going to be able to walk for some time now and this got to Chloe more than the pain itself. Now she was pretty much useless. No more gunfights for me, she thought bitterly. This was not how the adventure was meant to play out. No one ever got hurt this bad and if they did it was usually at the end of the adventure and then they would get better.

Phil looked at his watch, it was mid afternoon, time for snacks, he thought. Returning to the camp sounded like a good idea. They could come back tomorrow, he wasn't in any hurry and if that Chloe woman did get an infection and die on him he would have one less bargaining chip. That would be unacceptable.

Giving the order, the men started to pack up. Gritting her teeth against the pain, Chloe heaved herself up only to have Ted lift her bridal style. The pain that swept over her was close enough to make her pass out but instead she hissed in anger.

'Put me down! Just because I've been shot doesn't mean I can't walk out of here on my own bloody two feet,' she said vehemently. Ted didn't move but locked his gaze on hers and Chloe was taken aback at the unusual mix of rage and fear in his eyes.

'If you use that leg, it's going to start bleeding again,' he said flatly, his voice devoid of all emotion. Stubborn man, Chloe thought and was just about to speak again when Nate and Sully joined them.

'Are you ok?' they both asked. Chloe noticed both of them were at least three shades paler than usual and it suddenly hit her how worried her friends actually were. It was actually quite a pleasant feeling, she mused.

She punched Nate lightly on the cheek, 'I'm fine, but I'd be better here if this noble knight in shining armour would put me down. I need _some_ dignity left after all this,' she said and very gently Ted lowered her legs, muttering something about how the damsel in distress usually listened to their knight in shining armour but then again, Chloe wasn't a normal damsel in distress. Ted wasn't really sure if Chloe was a damsel in the first place.

After assuring Phil that they weren't going anywhere, obviously so with Chloe's leg, the three had their bonds cut. As Sully rubbed some life into his wrists, Nate positioned himself on the other side of Chloe and she slung an arm around his shoulders. She did the same thing for Ted and together they managed some sort of lurching limp walk.

Some way up the stairs Nate paused and Chloe grunted.

'What is it?' she asked and Nate pointed with his free arm to the last skeleton they had come upon.

'I was wondering how these guys died and then I remembered what that guard said: that none of the bones were broken. I've just noticed something else, I didn't realise it before because we hadn't dug them out properly, but his body is facing the wrong way.'

Sully crouched and looked at the bones, 'You're right, look, the skull is facing towards us but his toes point into the ground. His neck was twisted.'

Chloe shivered at the thought of someone's head twisting that far round.

'Do you think that happened to all of them?' she wondered out loud. Nate nodded.

'Well there's only one way to find out,' he said and they began to ascend.

Sure enough, every skeleton they came across had their body facing the wrong way.

'What do you think did it? You'd need a lot of strength to do that to a man, even more for four men,' Ted said wiping his brow with a bloodied shirtsleeve.

Nate didn't want to speculate but replied, 'I think it could have been one of the spartoi,' the others stared at him but he continued, 'Think about it, robbers find the teeth, the first thing they do? See if the legend is actually true, so they plant a tooth it grows into a spartoi which kills them all, giving chase to anyone who got away.'

There were a few holes in his story but it was the best he could come up with. There were still a few hours of daylight left but he felt exhausted. Too much had happened in too little a time. He glanced at Chloe who was leaning heavily on Ted. Her eyes were closed and her breaths shallow. Nate swallowed, it wasn't meant to happen like this, no one should've got hurt.

If Nate had learnt anything down there it was that they had to escape. Sooner rather than later. Phil was mad and someone else was going to get hurt if they didn't leave.

Funnily enough, surprisingly, Nate had a plan to do just this.

--

Elena peered through the binoculars at the camp below them. Uganda's proximity to the equator meant that night fell quickly and it was pitch black by seven. The floodlights were on, casting artificial white light over the tents, creating long shadows. They had driven as close as they could before they continued with the headlamps off. It was a successful ploy and they had managed to sneak up quite close to the compound.

Above them the moon was close and full, that alone provided enough light for Elena to see Andrew rummaging in the trunk of the car. She shook her head, Andrew really had gone all out, bringing along a miniature arsenal of ammunition, grenades, old but usable machineguns and even a battered RPG. Elena wondered what Andrew had pictured in his mind when she had first called him, saying that she needed a ride and a weapon. By the looks of it he had clearly seen Elena in the middle of World War 3.

He came over and gave her a holster with a standard Glock 9mm.

'What do you see?' he asked, his white teeth contrasting eerily in the dark night.

Elena told him of what she saw. Men swarmed over the camp, laughing and shouting, sneaking off for a smoke or game of cards.

'So how's this going to happen?' Andrew added. Elena ran a hand through her hair. It was going to be difficult to take on every single man and that left diversions. Elena had her reservations about diversions, they didn't always go how they were meant to. Andrew read her thoughts.

'If you want a diversion, we're gonna need maximum damage,' he patted the RPG he had slung across his back, 'We take out a generator and cause a fire, it should spread quickly. It's dry and the camp is covered in scrub, it'll burn easily.'

Having taken another look through the binoculars, Elena handed them over and pointed, 'Over there, in the right hand corner, I think they're keeping the generators there. The floodlights are connected to it. Another bonus, we take their light and they're gonna be even more confused.'

Andrew checked his watch. 'We should wait till the activity's died down. They'll probably have a constant guard but most of the men should be asleep later.'

Elena was ready to go now. She didn't even know if Nate was ok, if any of them were ok. No one had picked up the phone when she rang which made her even more suspicious if not incredibly anxious. The sooner her and Nate got out of here the better it would be for all of them.

--

'We need to get out of here,' Nate said as soon as they were alone. Sully looked up and jerked a thumb at Chloe who was dozing in a chair. His look was saying 'And what are we gonna do about her?'.

Since returning to the camp Ted had found bandages but unfortunately had been unable to locate any painkillers. He had though, pinched a bottle of whiskey from one of the guards and found some anaesthetic cream. It wasn't strong but at the time it was the best he could've done.

Nate didn't want to relive the past few hours at all but just looking at Chloe's form made his mind wonder.

--

_A little earlier_

When Ted told Chloe that he would have to put stitches in her leg, she paled visibly and shook her head violently.

'No way are you coming close to me with a needle,' she said, holding her hands out in defence. Nate looked a little concerned.

'Have you ever done this before?' he asked.

'I saw it in a movie once,' Ted replied and Chloe grunted.

'Ok, you're _definitely_ not coming close to me with a needle. You've never even done this before! Don't you have a doctor with you?' she asked.

Ted shook his head, 'The wound isn't going to close if you don't have stitches. You wanna stay like that forever?'

Chloe tilted her head and muttered that she didn't.

Ted took this as permission to go ahead and crouched by her leg. As he was threading a needle with nylon thread he paused.

'Uh, this is going to hurt…a lot,' he said.

'I'm a big girl. I can handle it,' but she didn't even look convinced herself. Ted wasn't persuaded either and handed her the bottle of scotch.

'Drink this, it'll help,' he said and Chloe stared at him.

'Is this all you've got?' she asked incredulous.

'I've got some cream, that should help too,' Ted said soothingly, he didn't think he could handle this either. Unwinding the bandage slowly, Ted had watched for Chloe's reaction. She looked pale but ready as she'll ever be for what he was about to do. She sat on a chair with her feet propped up on another in the tent they were being held at. Nate and Sully hovered over Ted, expressions of worry on both their faces. Chloe noted how neither of them had offered to do the job.

The last of the bandage fell to the floor and seeing the wound again reminded Chloe of the pain that came with it. She reached desperately for the bottle, unscrewed the cap and drank a quarter of the bottle straight.

Ted, Nate and Sully stared. Chloe burped, patted her chest and turned to Ted. Having not eaten all day meant the alcohol went straight to her head and Chloe was feeling a lot braver than she actually was. That's liquid encouragement for you, Sully thought.

She looked Ted in the eye, 'Ok, cowboy, do it.'

Ted wanted the raise an eyebrow, cowboy? He decided there were more pressing matters and with all the finesse and precision of an eight year old with safety scissors he cut away the material of Chloe's trousers.

'First date and you've already got me out of my pants,' Chloe muttered and Ted wondered if she was drunk already. If this was a different situation he would have laughed but seeing the red hole in Chloe's leg which still dribbled blood wanted to make him vomit. Taking a quick look at the wound and then at the bottle in Chloe's hand, he made a decision. Snatching the bottle from her slack grip, Ted took a lengthy swig from the bottle and handed it to Nate who, feeling similar things to Ted, helped himself as well. Sully repeated this and plonked the near empty bottle on a table.

His hands shaking, Ted brought the needle closer to the wound and with a tremor, pricked skin lightly.

Chloe screamed.

Obscenities, curses and prayers were offered and Ted frowned, lightly slapping Chloe on the cheek.

'Calm down! You nearly gave me a heart attack. I haven't even done anything yet,' he muttered. Chloe apologised and giggled.

Ted shut his eyes and took a breath to steady his nerves.

In one quick movement he pierced the skin and threaded the needle through.

Sully turned away, Nate was rooted to the spot.

Chloe stiffened, every muscle going taut. This real, very real pain was overwhelming and her knuckles were bone white from where they gripped the edges of her chair. The alcohol numbed the pain a little and the cream even less. When thinking about it later Chloe wondered why she hadn't just asked one of them to knock her out.

Without saying anything more, Ted continued, apologising every so often when he pulled a little too tightly on the thread. For what seemed like an age of agony to Chloe, Ted continued to stitch the wound and tying a final knot, he sat down heavily onto the floor.

Chloe let out a sigh of relief, 'I think I ground through most of my teeth,' she said thickly, the initial rush of alcohol had receded and now the pain returned, dull and throbbing.

Ted rested against a table leg, 'I hope not, I still have to do the exit wound.'

Chloe looked at the empty bottle of whiskey and groaned.

'You have got to be kidding me,' she said, 'The whiskey's run out, now what am I going to do?'

Nate noted that Ted looked more sad about the scotch than Chloe did. He decided he should try and help. Crouching on the other side of Chloe, he took hold of her hand.

'Ok, hold my hand and squeeze when the pain gets too much. Also, take deep breaths in and out,' he said and Sully slapped his forehead and Chloe stared at him, disbelieving.

'Oh brother, Nate, she's not the pregnant one. Birthing exercises aren't gonna help her,' Sully said.

'Well, at least I'm trying something, you haven't done anything,' Nate replied defensively.

'Great, first date he gets my pants off and now I'm giving birth,' Chloe gave an exasperated sigh and tilted her head back. Ted smiled weakly and straightened.

'Alright, better get this over and done with,' he muttered, picking up the bloody needle and cleaning it with an alcoholic wipe. Chloe watched him.

'Those things edible?' she asked, deadly serious.

'No, just do what Nate said, hold his hand, pretend you're at the dentist, if it gets too bad then raise your hand and I'll stop,' Ted said. Chloe gave him a hard look.

'The dentist lies; you lift your hand and he continues anyway,' she said darkly and Ted shrugged.

'I was gonna do that too, I was just trying to make you feel better.'

Chloe steeled herself and before Ted started again she spoke. 'I'm gonna thank you now because later, when the alcohol, wears completely off, the pain will probably be so bad I'm just going to be swearing at everyone.'

Ted gave her a grim smile of acknowledgement and set to work.

--

Nate shivered as he visualised the scene. Blood dripping, deep-just-about-to give-birth-breathing, ignored raised hands, dentist cursing and a sickly looking Sully. It was nothing he wanted to relive again and he would probably leave it out when he saw Elena.

Nate sighed thinking of Elena. Hopefully he would be able to see her soon. Having explained the plan after the stitching ordeal, Ted had left, supposedly to gather information but Nate had a suspicious feeling that he was probably getting himself suitably drunk. Nate didn't judge him on this and figured if he had to ever give someone stitches he would probable need a stiff drink.

All they were waiting for now was for the camp activity to calm down. When the most guards were asleep, then they would make their move. Nate reasoned it would create the most confusion. And as for Chloe, well, that wouldn't be so bad as long as they could steal a car and load her into it.

At the sound of the tent flap being unzipped, Nate and Sully looked up. Ted entered, holding a large rucksack and a map. Dumping these things on the table he checked on Chloe's bandage and leant down to brush some hair from her face. She barely registered his touch and remained still. Ted stood there for a while and Nate wondered if he was going to kiss her or something but after a moment of internal struggle, Ted shook his head, muttering something, and threw himself into a chair.

Nate was quiet and Sully took this as an opportunity to speak. 'So how'd it go?'

Ted waved at the map on the table and added a set keys to the pile of items, 'The key's are for the last Jeep in the row. In the bag there are some supplies and money. I marked on our location and there's a GPS map in there too. The jawbone is in the bag. As for the men, they're split in their loyalties. The ones in grey are on my side and the ones in black follow Phil.'

Sully raised an eyebrow, 'There a reason for that?'

'The one's in grey work for the same private security company as I do, we have a uniform. The ones in black are paid mercenaries, they just follow the money,' Ted said tonelessly. He disagreed with Nate's plan but in the end gave over because it meant that Chloe would be taken away from the danger.

'I don't wanna sound rude or anything, but I've seen the guys in grey, they don't look all that…uh strong, the guys in black look like they could take a whole magazine of an Ak-47,' Sully said and Ted smiled ruefully.

'That's probably true and that's why I'm against the plan. Too many people are gonna get hurt.'

Nate had barely been listening but noticed that Ted had missed something, 'Did you get it?'

Ted looked at him and reluctantly took the box out of his pocket. Sully recognised the ivory box of dragon teeth immediately. Nate opened it to reveal the razor sharp seeds. This was it, the ultimate diversion. A single spartoi would keep the whole camp busy giving Nate and the others a chance to escaping.

What were they going to do when they had gotten away? Back in the temple Nate had hidden something from Phil, it had been risky and Nate had almost caved when Chloe had been shot but he was glad that he hadn't. At the ends of both golden scroll cases was a small symbol, it resembled something that looked like an Egyptian hieroglyph and Nate was sure that it would lead them to the other jawbone. In the past tomb robbers were notorious, he had explained to the others, they were like organised gangs. They had their own hideouts, territories and even had their own 'tags' which was what Nate hoped he had spotted on the scroll tube.

If he found the group that had this symbol than he might find where this group were from. This could only lead to more clues. It was a long shot but it was better than helping someone like Phil.

'What can we expect from…it?' Ted asked, gesturing towards the box. Nate shrugged.

'I'm not sure, the Greek myths tell of fully armed soldiers, invincible and unstoppable in their powers,' he said. Sully whistled through his teeth.

'I'm glad we're not sticking around to find out,' he remarked, then winced, wishing he had picked a better choice of words. Ted frowned.

'Yeah, well _I_ do,' he said resentfully, 'I was hoping for a bit more than that, it's not gonna be easy to contain that thing once we let it out.'

Ted was going to stay behind. It only made sense. If he left with the others, Phil would almost definitely cancel his niece's surgery and that wasn't an option. He had spent his time getting together a cover, namely, changing the guard rounds so he wasn't supervising the prisoners. At first he had been wary but Nate assured him that they could overpower the guards who were guarding him and plant the tooth without much trouble.

Nate acknowledged his problem, 'True, but back in those days there wasn't such a thing as heavy artillery. A big enough explosion or sustained mortar fire would probably take it down.'

'I haven't got that much firepower, but I could probably get something together,' Ted said and checking his watch said, 'Well, I guess this is it, my shift is officially over, but wait a few more hours before you try anything. If the guards ask why you're untied just say you're examining the box and jawbone. Oh and by the way, the jeep has a tracker on it, so I suggest you ditch it as soon as you can.'

He spoke quicker and quicker, to stop himself feeling the finality of it all. He was about to lose the only sane company around here.

Nate stood and thanked him for his help. It seemed too soon that this was happening and Nate was a little bummed that Ted couldn't come. He was kinda handy to have around, someone to share Sully's grouching with. Elena would've liked him, he thought.

'I guess I'm not going to see you after this,' Ted said quietly, 'so this is goodbye….'

'For now, that is,' Nate said standing and shaking Ted's hand. Sully slapped him on the back.

'You're all right, kid, at first, I thought you were nuts but you turned out ok,' he said affectionately. Ted choked out a thanks.

'I hope your plan works out and if I don't see you around, good luck with the father thing,' Ted said stepping back bringing the goodbyes to an end. Taking one last look at the sleeping Chloe, he let out a long sigh, ' And uh…and look after her.'

Nate assured him that they would.

Satisfied with this, Ted headed out into the darkness without a look backwards.

--

Elena tapped her foot impatiently until Andrew couldn't stand it anymore. It wasn't so bad before but Elena had been doing this for a few hours now and he was worried she might get arthritis in her foot from all the movement.

'Ok, ok, we can start,' he said at last and Elena grinned.

'So let me get this straight, I stand here and blow stuff up while you drive towards the camp and rescue your friends?' Andrew went through the plan for the umpteenth time.

Elena sighed, 'Yes and before you ask, I do know where they are being held, I saw them being escorted to the toilets from and to the same tent. They haven't moved since.'

Andrew patted his friend on the shoulder, 'You are worried for Nate, but don't worry, everything will be fine.'

Taking a deep breath Elena climbed into the car and drove down slowly. When he thought she had made sufficient progress, Andrew hefted the RPG to his shoulder and took aim at the generators.

--

Giving only the slightest nod at Sully, Nate counted to five, spun on his right heel and punched the guard behind him in the face, hard. The man hit the floor out cold. Sully dispatched his guard with similar ease.

Their sudden visit to the toilets was the ideal cover to actual go and plant the tooth. The area here wasn't as well lit as other parts of the camp and Nate and Sully had the advantage of being able to use the shadows as a place to hide the bodies.

Hurriedly, Nate pulled the single tooth from his pocket and planted it in the red dust.

Nothing happened. Sully raised his eyebrows and looked at Nate who shrugged.

Before any of them could speak, the ground beneath them began to shake. Cracks appeared where the tooth had been placed. Nate and Sully took a step backwards. Whatever came out of there, it didn't need to know they were there.

With a suddenness that neither of them had been expecting, a section of ground exploded upwards and great clumps of rock rained down on the two men.

As the dust cleared, Nate thought he saw something heaving itself slowly out of the hole.

If Sully had been chewing a cigar in his mouth, it would have surely dropped by now. The Spartoi was so tall that they had to crane their necks as the thing straightened itself. Luckily, it wasn't facing them or they maybe wouldn't have gotten away.

Standing twice the height of a tall man, the spartoi formed a forbidding picture and in the dim light, Nate could see that it was roughly humanoid in shape. Two legs, a broad torso and two unnaturally long arms were visible.

It lifted its head. It wore a helmet with a flowing crest which made an odd shape in the darkness.

Nate and Sully shrunk back further into the shadows. As if sensing movement, the spartoi's head swivelled round and it's gaze rested on the two heroes.

Sully swallowed audibly and Nate wished he had a gun. The glowing eyes never wavered as it stepped towards them.

'On the count of three, run,' Nate whispered and Sully nodded his head vigorously.

Just then, as if his day couldn't get any worse, Nate heard the sound of an RPG being fired. The unmistakeable whistle of air being displaced by a speeding rocket was soon replaced by the tell-tale sounds of an explosion. A colossal fireball arced into the sky from the other side of the camp.

The lights went out.

People began to shout.

The spartoi turned its head, distracted for a moment.

Nate didn't have to tell Sully.

They ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

* * *

**Ok, I think the reason these chapters are kinda long is because I'm trying to hurry up and get to the present…it was a big ramble this one...**

**To do stitches like that…you need to be a manly man…**

**I would've updated sooner but I went to see Shutter Island-it was well good-and finally finished hard mode in Uncharted 2...**

**Thanks for reading!**


	10. What Were The Chances?

**Heyhey**

**I think I can only make this past business go on for two chapters more…I think I said the same thing a couple chapters before…doesn't matter…**

**Ok, so Ted did some stitches, Elena and Andrew started their own rescue plan while Nate and Sully just did their own thing. Now there is a spartoi loose…cool beans…**

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* * *

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Chapter 9

Elena thought that the plan was going a little too well as she crashed through the unmanned gate. Great, the lights were out, but surely there would have been someone at this part of the camp. Security wouldn't be all that lax, Elena frowned at this but manoeuvred her way towards the tent which Nate and the others were being held in.

Then she heard the gunfire.

Without realising it, Elena pressed a little harder on the accelerator, kicking up clouds of dust behind her. The sound of gunfire was a bad omen. Come to think of it, Elena couldn't think of a time when she had ever welcomed it.

She didn't want to think about what the men were shooting at. Andrew was too far away and the only other thing that these men would be interested in shooting at was Nate. Elena didn't like this at all.

A sudden gout of flame erupted not far from her car and she swerved, feeling the intense heat through the window.

What on Earth was going on?

As if to answer her question, a tall being ripped through the tent in front of her. Elena almost screamed. Uttering an oath, she made a sharp u-turn and with a glance in the rear-view mirror she took a deep breath, her worst fears confirmed.

It was following her.

Elena could hear heavy feet hitting the floor, with every dull thud she could tell it was gaining speed, it would be on her in a minute.

She wished Andrew could see what was happening and provide her with some assistance but as she rounded another corner, she entered a large clear space where the generators were kept and Elena's hopes were dashed.

The bank of generators were ablaze, the flames high and hot. Andrew had been right, the fire had spread across the sparse, dry brush quickly and there weren't many men putting out the fire. With a sickening realisation, Elena noticed that some of the prone forms strewn across the dust weren't debris at all. They were people.

Elena sped by, trying to remember where to go. The place was in chaos. In her headlamps, she caught sight of men hurrying to and fro, helping the wounded or barking orders. As she came close though, the men turned, barely registering the car, their faces turning ashen when they saw what was following her.

The men scattered, not one of them trying to stop Elena's car.

Checking her mirrors every so often, Elena felt like she was in Jurassic Park and a T-Rex was chasing her or, more non threateningly, like in Toy Story 2 where the same thing happened only with a toy dinosaur. Elena wished it was like the latter.

The creature was definitely too close now. It's reflection no longer fit in the mirror, if it reached out…

Elena gave a whoop in relief as a RPG rocket slammed into the side of the thing, enveloping it in a cloud of smoke. As Elena jammed her foot down on the pedal, she thought she saw the creature right itself, head swivelling wildly to find what had attacked it.

Killing the lights of the car, Elena continued and skidded to a halt beside the tent. Without even thinking, she turned off the engine and let her head fall onto the steering wheel. Adrenaline coursed through her system, with her eyes closed she could still see the creature clearly in her mind. Despite being shrouded in an unnatural shadow, Elena had been able to make out a distinctly human shape. Whatever that monster was, it wasn't here now and that's what mattered.

When she felt like she had gathered her emotions, Elena checked her gun and stepped out of the car.

The camp was deathly quiet. The distant sound of guards shouting and guns firing was unnerving as she inched towards the dark tent, gun drawn.

A light breeze, teased hair from her ponytail, the tent flap billowed. Elena edged forward, brandishing the gun in the doorway and took a furtive look around the space.

It was empty.

Elena kicked the dirt and hissed. She had come all this way, chased by some weird ass monster and now, they weren't even here? Elena was just about to stomp back to her car, when something moved in the corner.

Swearing quietly, she quickly aimed at the huddled mass, her finger resting on the trigger.

The thing moved again, this time with a groan, and a blanket fell away, revealing a woman in a very familiar red t-shirt.

'Chloe?'

The woman looked up groggily, 'Elena? God, I must've drank more than I realised, now I'm seeing things.'

Hoping no one would notice, Elena turned on a lamp and catching sight of the bloodied cloth on the floor, gasped, 'What happened?'

'Got shot in the leg,' Chloe muttered, as if this wasn't big news at all, 'I've got a killer hangover, you got any aspirin? Oh sorry, I forgot, you're a hallucination.'

Moving the light closer, Elena could see the stained bandage wrapped around the woman's thigh. This was worse than she had thought. Nobody got hurt this bad on an adventure. Elena was glad that she had brought a car with her; they would have gotten nowhere on foot.

Taking hold of Chloe's shoulder, Elena shook her, 'I'm not a hallucination, I'm real. I've come to rescue you guys.'

Chloe's unfocused gaze settled on her, 'You sure? Because this has happened before…only that time you punched me in the face…and we were rolling around in a mud pit…'

Elena paused. While slightly intrigued, she knew that she shouldn't care if Chloe hallucinated about her and hearing an explosion in the distance took her back to reality. They were running out of time. She had to find Nate and Sully.

She was just about to say something, when a pair of headlights stopped in front of the tent. Elena froze. It must have been guards, they could have noticed the light on in the thent. She heard doors open and then slam shut. Two slams, that meant two people, right?

Covering Chloe with the blanket again, Elena took position behind the table, gripping her gun with two hands. Low voices outside told her that the people were getting close.

Taking a deep breath, Elena waited.

--

Nate swore when he saw the lights on in the tent.

He hoped Chloe was ok because so far the plan had gone swimmingly, the Jeep was where it should be, everyone was distracted, apart from the unexplained RPG fire, Nate thought this had gone rather well.

Sully, loading the guns he had pinched from a guard took scared to notice, looked at Nate grimly, 'This doesn't look good.'

Agreeing, Nate stopped the car and they climbed out.

'I'll go first, cover me,' Nate murmured, taking one of the pistols.

Sully nodded and reached out to pull back the tent flap.

--

As soon as the tent flap moved aside, Elena shot up out of cover and aimed at the intruder.

The assailant, detecting the sudden movement, turned towards it. Elena saw the figure freeze.

'Elena?'

The person came into the light, lowering his gun. Recognition swept over his face. Elena let out a sigh of relief and nearly broke down when she realised it was Nate.

'What are you doing here?' he asked, bewildered as Elena skirted round the table and threw her arms around him. He held her loosely, wondering how the heck she had managed to get here.

'I came to rescue you,' Elena replied and stepping back for what Nate thought was going to be a kiss, she slapped him.

There was wince from Chloe who had come out from under her blanket, 'That looked like it hurt.'

Nate staggered backwards, 'What was that for?'

Fists planted on her hips Elena gave him the evils, 'That's for not ringing me back after you got cut off. Do you know how worried I was?'

'A lot?' Nate said weakly, holding up his palms. Sully followed Nate in and took stock of the situation. Sully shook his head, sometimes Nate just didn't know when to apologise.

'So that was your RPG?' he asked and Elena turned to him, flustered for a moment at the interruption. At seeing that her friend was ok, she hurried over and hugged him. Nate scowled darkly when she gave Sully a kiss on the cheek.

He stepped forwards to receive his own kiss.

'Yeah, I have a friend who was covering me when I drove down to get you,' Elena explained, ignoring Nate and then frowned, 'But what was that creature? It was chasing me, luckily, Andrew shot it otherwise I don't think I would've gotten away.' She shuddered at the thought of those long arms.

'Andrew?' Nate said and then wondered why he had. Elena had lots of friends, and Nate didn't think he was the kind of guy who got jealous over these sorts of things but here he was in the middle of the Africa, getting annoyed over some guy having an 'adventure' with Elena.

Nate didn't like this, in his mind it seemed pretty obvious that he was the only one who should have any sort of adventure with Elena, his pregnant girlfriend. Or maybe he was just being petty and possessive.

Elena shot him a look, 'Yes, Andrew, a man,' she said as if reading Nate's mind exactly and deciding that he was being petty and possessive.

There was a beat of silence before Nate backed down and sighed, 'Sorry, I've…I mean we've just been through a lot lately.'

Chloe watched with interest, funny that, she thought, Nate wouldn't usually step down from a fight but maybe that's what happens in serious relationships. It seemed to her that Nate's own strong character bent to mild mannered Elena's. Chloe paused at this. No, not mild mannered, Elena was more than that, more like…iron willed…and a surprisingly good shot. Chloe wondered why she was even analysing the couple's relationship, she didn't really care about these things and she wondered what had made her so interested now. Chloe figured it had to do something with the fact that she was feeling a little ill, possibly from all the scotch.

Elena's expression softened and she gestured at the bloody medical supplies, 'I can see that, what happened exactly?'

The three former prisoners exchanged glances.

'Uh, it's kind of a long story, maybe we should get out of here first,' Sully said at length, 'We don't want the spartoi to notice us leaving.'

'That 'thing' was a spartoi?' Elena asked incredulous. Nate nodded.

'We planted a tooth as a distraction,' he explained and taking a black rucksack from under the table he hauled it onto his back, 'Let's get moving. I think we should take you car, the Jeep has a GPS tracker on it.'

The distant chatter of machineguns in the distance had Elena and Sully nodding vigorously and they carried Chloe to the car Elena had come in.

Nate threw the rucksack into passenger foot well before climbing in himself and Elena took the wheel.

'Just like old times,' she muttered and Nate smiled. He turned and checked on Chloe who was stretched out over the backseat, her feet resting on Sully's lap.

'Comfortable?' he asked with amusement as Chloe massaged her forehead, eyes screwed shut tight.

'I will be when we finally leave this hell hole,' she grumbled. Sully patted her leg.

'That's the spirit,' he said and Elena gunned the engine.

They sped away towards the ruckus, aiming to leave where Elena had stormed through the gate. Nate held onto the dashboard as they swerved through a labyrinth of narrow spaces made by haphazardly placed tents.

Without much warning a figure ran across the path of the car. Elena braked hard, but it was too late, she hit the man square on with a dull thud.

Chloe opened her eyes, 'What was that?' she asked.

Nate peered through the windscreen, 'I think we hit someone.'

Elena gripped the steering wheel nervously, 'It was a bad guy, right? Tell me I hit a bad guy.'

There was silence.

'Maybe we should drive away, no one would know it was us,' Chloe whispered and Sully gave her a look that just said no.

Suddenly a pair of arms gripped the hood of the car. All four passengers screamed.

'Ohmygosh,' Elena garbled, 'It's a zombie! Why zombies? Haven't we already had enough of those?'

The being hauled himself up and stumbled to the driver's side window. It knocked on it with a fist. Elena took out her gun.

'It's not gonna get us, I won't let it,' she said steadfastly and Nate frowned. There was something about the so called zombie that was vaguely familiar.

'Whoa! It's Ted,' Nate said, laughing and leant over to open the window. Chloe and Sully let out relieved sighs and Elena felt guilty about running over a good guy.

When Ted recognised the occupants of the car, he was slightly baffled and then he saw that Nate was laughing.

'What's so funny? You guys nearly killed me!' he said, breathless. His chest hurt and he had some minor cuts but was otherwise unhurt.

'We thought you were a zombie,' Chloe said. Ted held onto the roof of the car for support, Elena thought he looked a little dazed, maybe he had a concussion, she thought. As if noticing her for the first time, Ted turned to Elena. He held out a dusty hand and she shook it.

'Hello, my name is Ted. I wish we could've met under different circumstances.'

Elena grimaced, 'Sorry about running you over.'

Ted waved a hand, 'Doesn't matter, looks like I'm ok. Hey, I heard you were expecting, congratulations.'

Elena gaped, now she definitely thought there was something wrong with his head, it seemed weird to her that they would exchange pleasantries like this as if nothing was wrong. She looked at Nate quickly who shrugged, as if telling her that this man was usually like that.

While Nate and Ted discussed the latest happenings in the camp and how they should best leave it, Elena gave Ted the customary once over that most girls do in the company of good looking men, starting from the head downwards. Tousled dark hair, now red with sand, kind eyes, strong jaw, the list continued and Elena clearly wasn't being as inconspicuous as she thought because next thing she knew Nate was looking at her disbelievingly, as if he knew what she was doing. Ted stood, swaying slightly, oblivious to the attention.

She rolled her eyes and patted Nate's hand to reassure him. It made him feel like she was telling him that he was just a man and therefore would never _ever_ understand the things girls do or why. Maybe it was better that way, he thought.

'You guys better get going,' Ted said, sobering, 'we're setting up the final resort.'

The way Ted said that made the hairs on Chloe's arm stand up.

'What's does that entail?' Elena asked and Ted was quiet for a moment.

'We've figured out a way to kill the spartoi,' he answered vaguely and he stepped away from the car.

Elena put the car in gear and thanked him. He looked confused for a moment and she explained, 'For looking after Nate, Sully and Chloe, you didn't have to but you did.'

Ted locked eyes with Chloe, 'I wouldn't have done it any other way,' he said and watched as they drove away.

As she checked the rear view mirror, Elena thought she saw something in Chloe's eyes, a flicker of emotion, perhaps, but as soon as it had come it was gone and Elena wondered if she had just imagined it. She shook her head and concentrated harder on the road, determined not to hit anyone else.

Sully broke through the subdued silence, 'So what next?'

Nate stuck a hand in his pocket and pulled out the thin gold scroll holder, 'We find out what group this symbol belongs to,' he said and Elena glanced over, taking her hand form the gear stick and rubbing a thumb over the etched gold.

'Shouldn't you be watching the road?' Sully asked, not wanting to hit anyone else. Elena flicked her eyes to the windscreen before making a steering adjustment with one hand.

'I can multitask,' Elena she said and Sully raised an eyebrow, this coming from the woman who just ran a man over while _not_ being distracted. 'I think I recognise that symbol,' she said, ignoring or just not noticing Sully's expression.

'Really?' Nate said, amazed, 'Even I hadn't seen it before.'

Elena slowed a little to take a closer look and nodded, 'I definitely saw this, years ago, I made a documentary in Egypt, one of the tombs we visited had this symbol on the wall, apparently a group of tomb robbers had set up shop there.'

Sully shook his head in wonder, 'What were the chances of that?'

'Do you remember where this place was?' Nate asked, the excitement rising in his voice. He was so happy that he was willing to forget the Andrew thing, for now, anyway.

'I think so, I'll need to check out some stuff, but I'm pretty sure it's near coast somewhere or maybe the Nile…I remember being by water,' Elena said, grinding the gears as the car struggled to climb up the valley at speed.

They had left the camp now, and from this height they could see the havoc and destruction that had been caused. At least half the camp was on fire, the dry shrubs creating quick fuel for the hungry flames. The spartoi was still moving about, but it hadn't noticed the car leaving the compound.

To fill the growing quiet in the car, Elena told Nate about what they had learnt about Phil and his attachments to the government. Nate filled her in on their side of the story and they lapsed into an amiable silence, both too tired to say anymore.

The car reached Andrew not long after and he grinned when he saw the occupants, 'Greetings, my friends, I hope you are ok.'

Sully moved aside and created room for him in the back seat. Chloe apologised to Andrew for resting her feet on his legs.

Sully frowned, 'Why didn't you apologise to me?'

'Because you, indecent man that you are, actually want my legs on you,' she grunted in response and everyone smiled. Sully let this pass but sat thoughtfully, wondering what he would tease her about next.

With the car stopped, Elena turned around and looked at the drawn faces of her companions.

'Should we plan what we're gonna go next?' she asked.

'We can still see the camp, shouldn't we get out of here first?' Sully said.

'They're busy enough,' Nate muttered and then a little louder said, 'We need to get to Egypt, fast. If Phil is as well connected as you say he is, then he's not going to have much trouble tracking us down. The government will keep a record of flights in and out of the country, right?'

Andrew nodded, 'You're going to have to be smuggled out but don't worry, I know a guy who knows a guy. If we can get back to the city, I can arrange to have you flown to Sudan, from there you can find many who will take you across the border to Egypt.'

'Whoa, back up there, isn't Sudan isn't exactly the safest place right now,' Sully butt in, 'How'd you expect us to get ourselves to Egypt from there?'

'The pilot will help you, don't worry,' Andrew replied with an easy smile, 'In this part of the world, if you have money, everyone is going to want to help you.'

'Then we're screwed because Phil has way more than us,' Nate said and paused, when was the last time he had actually checked his bank account?

'Don't worry, we have enough,' Elena said, looking at him. Nate realised that she was doing the mind reading thing a lot. Maybe it was something pregnant women did.

'Ok so its decided, we're going to Sudan then to Egypt, can we just go now?' Chloe said, cranky from the lack of sleep and adequate painkillers.

As if to persuade them more an inhuman scream erupted from the camp.

Everyone was still.

'That 'thing' can make sounds?' Elena whispered, disbelieving. Without another word, she started the car and drove.

The camp wasn't quite out of sight when Sully spoke, more to annoy Chloe than to lighten the mood.

'So, you've been rather quiet, thinking about Ted?' he said to her. Chloe gave him a dirty look.

'I have not been thinking about him,' she said thickly, 'I've been shot in the leg, had stitches, drank a bottle of scotch…I think I'm allowed to be a little quiet.'

Elena's feminine intuition told her otherwise. Funnily enough, Elena thought that she was getting a lot more out her intuition than she usually did, seeing things in different ways, almost reading people's minds…she wondered if it was because she was pregnant but then scrapped this idea because if she was actually becoming psychic then she would have been able to perceive running Ted over with the car. Would've been nice though, she thought wistfully.

'Sure, sure,' Sully sarcastically replied and Chloe rolled her eyes. Truth was, she had been thinking about him but only because she wanted to wring his neck or…kiss him silly. Chloe was never sure these days and that's probably why Ted annoyed her so much. It wasn't healthy to think about one guy this much. On top of it all, Chloe wasn't really sure where she stood with him. He confused her. Now that Ted was gone, she could return to normal. Somehow this didn't make her feel any better.

Sully seemed to pick up on her thoughts and added, 'So what happened between you and him when me and Nate went to the toilet last night?'

Chloe was faintly aware of how everyone's attention was suddenly focused on her. They didn't look at her but she could tell they were intently listening.

'Nothing happened,' she replied.

'You sure?' Sully goaded.

'Wipe that silly look off your face, mister, nothing happened between me and Ted and I am not thinking about him, capeesh?'

Without any warning, the compound exploded.

In a series of coordinated detonations, the camp disappeared under a mass of smoke and roiling flames. The blast echoed in their ears for minutes after.

Fleetingly, Chloe looked out of the back window, she wondered if Ted had been caught in the explosion. Sully leant forward with a smile, his words made her scowl.

'You thinkin' about him now?'

* * *

**Ok, not much happened there…**

**Next week I am going to Greece so I don't know if I will be able to put another chapter up before then…hopefully I will…**

**Not much happened in this chapter, but things got decided…which is what matters I suppose**

**I hope this story makes sense…sometimes the actual games didn't…especially number 2…what I don't understand is what the thing in the mountain was…around chapter 17/18…was it just Shafer's men trying to find the stone? **

**I still enjoyed them though**

**Thanks for reading!**


	11. I Did Not Know You Had Parents

**So here we are…this took ages to appear…sorry**

**I'm sorry this took ages…I was in Greece…it was well good…and it was before all the riots…I came back and it took me ages to start writing again…I ran out of things to write…**

**To 'ultraviloetangel': thanks for the review! It means a lot to me that you like this story…I never know if people do**

'**Shelley': Same as the above and I'm glad that you have found this funny and I'm even more happy that you want to see more of it and have enjoyed it from the beginning **

**Anyways, in the last chapter the guys finally escaped from the camp and Phil…Andrew said they could get a flight to Sudan and then they could get to Egypt from there…and if you can't remember why they need to get to Egypt then…snap…because neither could I…I had to reread my whole story and found a bunch of commas not being where they are meant to be…I cannot believe my grammar is this bad**

* * *

Chapter 10

Nate stretched out his legs and yawned. On the other side of the picnic bench, Chloe was snoring peacefully.

Sully smoked a cigar in the dim light.

'When is this plane coming?' he asked for the umpteenth time.

Elena let out a ragged sigh, 'Sully, we're in Africa…things go slowly…all the time.'

'Yeah, but the plane was meant to be here three hours ago,' Sully muttered. He needed the loo again, this in itself wasn't a problem, there was a toilet, albeit in a small cramped out-house. It was the exposure to the mosquitoes that really scared Sully. He had already been bitten everywhere else. No need to make it more painful that it already was.

Nate's head jerked upwards before it hit the table. He was so tired. It was four in the morning and the plane that was supposed to take them to Sudan still hadn't arrived. Andrew had left them at an abandoned airfield, Nate wasn't really sure if it was an airfield as it looked like any other piece of rural land- dry, dusty and bare.

Elena patted his arm, 'It's ok, you can go to sleep, me and Sully will keep watch.'

'We will? What if I want to sleep? I need sleep too. I need lots of sleep,' Sully said.

'You're not an old man who sleeps all day,' Elena replied, 'You won't be able to get to sleep anyways. Not with you needing the toilet every five minutes.'

Sully shrugged and sat on the bench.

Elena smiled reassuringly at Nate, who gave her a grateful look. With the comfort of Elena's hand on his, he rested his head on a rucksack and let himself drift off into an uneasy sleep

.....

_Elena knocked on the door._

_Nate wrung his hands nervously._

'_Do we really have to do this?' he whispered. Elena linked her arm with his and she grinned at him._

'_Someone would think you're scared or something,' she replied and Nate tugged nervously at his shirt collar. He did not wear shirts…not ones with collars at any rate. He had even brought out a tie but Elena had told him it wasn't necessary. He picked up the bunch of flowers that was leaning against the porch._

'_Yeah, but they're your parents!' he hissed, 'I don't do this sort of thing…wait…I've never done this sort of thing before. I don't know what to do.'_

'_You'll be fine,' Elena said soothingly, 'you're a very good at adapting. It's just dinner.'_

_As they heard footsteps approaching from the other side of the door, Elena turned to him._

'_Remember, my dad is called James and my mom is Linda.' she whispered quickly, 'The dog in the green jumper is called Chlorine, the brown one Bromine and the black one is Iodine and the deer in the back yard is Mr Potter. If anyone asks-you're graduated from Yale and you've published several papers. You do not under any circumstances say that you've owned or fired a gun. You do not abdicate violence and you vote Democrat every election. You've never been to prison and you've never been in a rock band. Uh…what else...oh yeah, you like basketball and support the Lakers. When talking about baseball, it's a tossup between the Yankees and the Mets, but ultimately you would like to see the Mets win. You prefer red jell-o to green jell-o and if you mention cars…you own an American one because you don't trust those Japanese ones. We're happy dating right now, but we're thinking about getting engaged and having five children-hi mom!'_

_The door opened and Nate gaped like a goldfish, his mind unable to cope with the information overload._

_Linda Fisher turned to him, looked at the flowers in his hands and waited, expectant._

_Elena nudged Nate in the shoulder and he spoke, trying very hard to remember all the names and instructions he had been told._

'_Oh yes, hello, Mr Potter, these jell-os are for you,' he said quickly, holding out the bouquet._

_There was a beat of silence. _

_Mrs Fisher gave him and odd look and Elena smiled inwardly. Maybe she should have held back on some of the more unnecessary…false information but it was worth it, if only for Nate's reaction._

_....._

'What d'you think he's dreaming about?' Sully asked, staring intently at Nate, his face only inches away from his friend's.

'I don't know, but by the expression on his face, I'd say something really horrific,' Chloe said from the other side of the table. She had woken some time before and having done so because of pain, she was finding it hard to sleep again. Luckily, Sully had invented a new game, which was revolved around interpreting Nate's varying facial expressions while asleep.

Elena was concerned, usually she was the one who had nightmares, not Nate. She wondered if she should wake him.

Sully poked Nate's shoulder. The other man shifted slightly, muttering.

Chloe caught a few words. 'Did he just say 'Mr Potter'?'

'I think he did,' Sully agreed and scratched his chin, 'I don't remember anyone called that though. Except in those books…the ones with that kid…with a magic stick…'

'It's called a wand, Sully,' Chloe muttered. Sully looked over to Elena who wore a small smile. It made sense now, she thought it was rather adorable that Nate would be having a bad dream about the day he met her parents.

'You wouldn't,' she explained, 'Mr Potter was a deer who lived in my parent's back yard.'

Chloe raised her eyebrows, 'Where the hell did they live?'

'Must've been in a forest,' Sully nodding wisely and Elena laughed.

'My dad's a vet, when we were young we found a deer by the road, it had been hit by a car. We persuaded my dad to take him home with us and he fixed him up,' she explained.

'We?' Chloe asked.

'Yeah, my two sisters and I,' Elena said. Sully's cigar fell from an open mouth.

'You have a family?' he asked shocked.

Elena gave him an odd look, 'You think I just popped out of the ground? Of course I have a family. Everyone does.'

'I beg to differ,' Chloe said raising a hand, ' And to be honest I've never thought about any of us having a family. Actually…come to think of it, I don't know anything about you guys in that respect.'

'Nate seemed to have the same problem,' Elena said, 'When I told him we should go visit my parents he looked shocked, as if he had never heard of the concept of my parents existing.'

'I don't think Nate's stuck around with someone long enough for that sort of thinking,' Chloe replied, watching Nate's sleeping form. The grotesque facial expression had receded into a frown and Elena thought that he was going to get wrinkles. She didn't say it but she was also flattered. That time had been Nate's first time visiting a girlfriend's parents. Surely, that meant something. It also boded well that Nate hadn't bolted straight away afterwards.

With this in mind, Elena cast her thoughts back to that summer evening.

.....

_Nate took his shoes off in the hallway, muttering bitter thoughts under his breath but smiling as best he could when Elena's mother looked at him. _

_He was pretty sure Elena was just having fun with him. Surely he wasn't expected to remember all that stuff. Most of it wouldn't come up in a normal conversation anyway._

_A fat tabby cat in a green jumper sat at the base of stairs, it stared at Nate intently. _

_Nate frowned, he didn't have a particular fondness for cats and this one looked like it was judging him._

_After the cat was done glaring, it stalked lazily towards Nate's shoes and gave them a sniff. Dissatisfied with the result, the cat stuck its nose in the air and padded away. Nate scowled, stuck up cat, he thought, there is nothing wrong with my shoes…and they don't smell._

'_You have to watch out for that one,' Linda said kindly, 'she has a bit of an attitude towards strangers.'_

_Nate smile weakly and followed Elena and Mrs Fisher to the living room._

_Before they entered, Elena leaned close as if sensing his distress, 'Don't worry, I'll be right there with you,' she whispered._

'_You owe me big-time,' Nate muttered, resigned to his fate. Elena smiled and brushed her lips against his cheek._

'_That's my guy, you'll be fine. My dad's easy to get along with.'_

_Yeah, Nate thought darkly, but only if you prefer green jell-o over red._

_Or was it red over green?_

_Nate wanted to leave, badly._

_Steeling his mind, he allowed himself to be pulled into the room, where Elena's father was waiting._

_....._

Chloe yawned, 'This is getting boring, he looks calm now.'

Sully stamped the remains of his cigar into the ground. Chloe was right, Nate seemed alright now. He needed something else to think about.

'So, Chloe, that explosion back at the camp…you think Ted made it out alive?' he asked, turning to his favourite subject.

Chloe blew her fringe from her face irritably, wondering how Sully managed to keep this topic still going, 'Just bug off, alright? I don't care about Ted or anything related to him. I'm glad to be away from that nut-house. Ok?'

'Touchy,' Sully muttered and Elena sighed.

'It _was_ a big explosion,' she said and Chloe turned to her.

'Not you too.'

Elena shrugged, she knew, and she hadn't even seen them together much. You'd have to be dead not to notice. Or Nate, he was dense when it came to these sorts of things. Chloe cared. A lot.

'I don't know much about Ted,' she said to Sully, 'I just ran him over with a car, but what's he like?'

Chloe tried hard to zone out of Sully's glowing character reference, every word reminded her the man who had saved her life…more than once. Anymore and she was going to have to owe him.

But that was an excuse to see him again. Did she even need an excuse? She was a grown woman. She could do whatever she wanted. Providing he was still alive, of course. The thought made Chloe uneasy.

'Well, It's a long story,' Sully began, 'His name is Ted Wanalulu and he works for a private security firm. Since he couldn't pay for his niece's life saving surgery he agreed to work for Phil, who now uses it over him once and a while. When I first met him I thought he was crazy. Apparently he tried to threaten and hit on Chloe at the same time. Didn't he Chloe?'

Chloe gave a non-committal grunt.

Sully continued, unperturbed, 'Anyway, Ted's a fair leader and likes children, he's loyal to his men and doesn't always give them the horrible jobs. He also helps old people and plays board games.'

Elena absorbed the information slowly, 'Wow…he sounds like a great guy. I'm happy for you Chloe.'

Chloe glared in a way that had Elena backing away, she still smiled though, 'Sorry, I take that back.'

To move the topic onto something else, Chloe asked something that had been on her mind.

'So what happened when Nate went to see your parents?'

Elena grimaced.

.....

_Tall with greying hair, James Fisher held an air of neatness about him._

_Nate first impression was that he looked a little tired. Not superficially, as if he hadn't slept well that previous night, but a tiredness that spanned years. As if he was used to losing arguments and being wrapped around loving daughter's fingers. _

_Living with a wife, three strong-willed, outspoken daughters and three female cats would do that to a man, Nate figured._

_Fighting off the urge to gulp, he wiped a sweaty palm on a trouser leg and held his hand out._

_The two men shook hands with Elena overlooking approvingly. She felt a little relived. It was going to be alright. Nate knew how to act in front of other people…normal people, when he put his mind to it. It felt like they were getting somewhere in this relationship, she had actually been worried when she first brought the topic up. She didn't take Nate for the type of guy who visited parents and had been dead right but somehow had persuaded him and here they were. Like a bog standard couple. It felt weird. _

_She caught herself thinking that if masked gunmen jumped in as they were about to sit at the dining table it would be more normal than some of the days she had been through. Elena, shook her head mentally, she had spent too much time adventuring. It was starting to get to her._

_James offered Nate a beer which he accepted and settled down onto the couch._

_Elena and him sat on one and Mr and Mrs Fisher sat on another facing them. There was a moment's awkward silence and Nate knew he was being examined intently. Posture, hair and clothes were being scrutinised by the two people before him. If he made one wrong move…he was faintly aware of a bee buzzing around somewhere but tried to keep a steady focus on something. _

_As if passing the test the parents gaze shifted to their daughter._

_Let the interrogation begin, Nate thought._

_The bee, which had been hovering by a vase of flowers, decided that it should return home and headed for a tree in the distance, only to be stopped by an invisible barrier. Unperturbed, the bee tried again and again._

_Nate was fascinated. Was there a more idiotic insect? he thought as the bee head-butted the window over and over. There's an open window right next to it but no, it has to go in a straight line…maybe I should help it._

'_Nate?'_

_Elena's voice cut through his thoughts._

'_Hmm?' Nate turned to her._

'_Uh, my dad was just asking how we met….'_

_Nate paled and looked at Elena's dad who was staring at him._

'_Sorry, got a bit distracted by that bee,' Nate said gesturing to the window behind Linda. Both of them turned but the bee wasn't there. Just his luck, it had figured out to fly through an open window. Now it looked like he was just making weird stuff up. Or maybe he was just over thinking the situation. Yeah, probably._

'_I met Elena, when I was excavating a site in South America,' Nate began, a few nights before, he and Elena had gone over these things and condensed the original story to something a lot more family friendly. 'She was doing some recording for one of her shows.'_

'_I see,' James said, 'So what do you actually do? Elena told us it was something to with archaeology.'_

'_Yes, Elena has told us so much about you but not what you do for a living,' Linda added._

_That's because I don't really _do_ anything, Nate thought. Elena had told them about him? This was news to him. Remembering what they had discussed previously, he spoke._

'_I am an archaeologist,' Nate said. Linda's eyes widened in excitement._

'_You mean like Indiana Jones?'_

_James sighed, 'I don't think so. Not every archaeologist carries a bull whip, wears a hat, finds the treasure, bags the girl and fights European bad guys.'_

_You're not far off though, Elena thought to herself and she though caught a ghost of a smile hovering around Nate's lips._

'_Well…he could have been,' Linda concluded. James looked at him for some support._

'_Sorry to disappoint, but I'm mostly in research,' Nate replied, smiling. This was going to be easier than he thought. _

_All he had to do was make it through dinner and dessert. He could do that. He was Nathan Drake._

_It was because of this, precisely, that things did not go according to plan._

_....._

Chloe and Sully leaned inwards, Elena had their full attention.

It wasn't until it was nearly landing, did the trio realise that the plane had arrived.

'She was getting to good part,' Sully grumbled, picking up his bags, 'I just know it.'

He went off to have words with the pilot and Chloe started getting things together.

Elena sat, her hand still on Nate's. She supposed she would have to finish off that story some other time.

She didn't really want to wake Nate up either, he looked exhausted. Reluctantly she shook his shoulder gently. He woke up and blinked blearily.

'It's time to go, the plane's here,' Elena said softly. Nate looked at her, smiling sleepily.

'Y'know…I was having the weirdest dream,' he mumbled, stretching his arms, 'It was about that time we went to your parent's house.'

'Strange,' Elena replied, 'What made you think of that?'

Nate put an arm over her shoulder and puller her close. 'I don't know, but you know what, I was thinking that when this is all over, we should go see them again.'

Elena took a moment to savour this feeling. It was one she hadn't felt in a long time and Elena realised that she missed this. Missed him. Just sitting here on a old picnic bench, her head on his shoulder and his arm around hers with nothing but the sky above them. It was right. It was good.

Then she realised what Nate had just said.

Chloe, whose head was under the table, while she picked up a stray map, froze in her position. If she sat up now, it would probably ruin the moment.

Elena looked up, 'Really?'

Nate looked at her, eye to eye, deadly serious, 'Yeah, I mean, we're having a kid, it only seems right.'

Lost in the moment, Elena was filled with happiness.

This was a huge commitment coming from Nate and she wondered if he knew how much this meant to her.

Nate was lost in the joy he could see light up Elena's face. If he could see that every day he was pretty sure he wouldn't need anything else in the world.

Nate wondered when he had started to think like that.

Under the table, Chloe's muscles were beginning to cramp, she hoped the mush had passed but neither of them were speaking.

They were so lost in the moment that they didn't register the mass of jeeps heading towards them like a strange mechanical herd.

Or the warning shots fired by machine guns. Or the sirens. Or the tank. Or even one of Sully's screams.

Of course they only noticed something was wrong when the toilet out-house exploded.

Typical.

* * *

**Ok…that was harder than I thought it would be, but thankfully I have quite a bit left over from this chapter to be a part of the next one….**

**I was trying to make this sound American…because that is what I imagined Elena's family to be like…a mom here and a jell-o there….I also know nothing about baseball…those were the only teams I know of…I don't know if they even play each other…I could have looked it up…but I was kinda lazy **

**This chapter to me seems like waste but please, just go with the flow…**

**So many things have happened since I last updated…this chapter took time to come out because I had so much to do…mock exams…school prom…the usual…**

**Thanks for reading!**


	12. Did You Know?

**Hey there…**

**Ok, so…last time Nate and Elena had some mush time and there was flashback…at the end of the chapter they were being attacked and the toilet exploded.**

* * *

Chapter 11

Chloe hobbled up the stairs and into the plane with Nate hurrying her along.

A bead of sweat slicked down the side of his face. One minute he was having a serious talk about relationships the next, he was being pelted with building material…or what he hoped was building material.

Nate wondered what it was like to have a normal life.

Elena ducked behind some empty oil barrels, bullets zinged off leaving shallow dents. She looked over to where Nate was trying to get Chloe onto the plane.

Sully was already in there, directing the pilot to start the engines of the small passenger aircraft.

Peering over her temporary cover, she saw police jeeps skid to a halt some distance away, letting out heavily armed policemen.

Elena frowned, how had they known they were here?

She hoped nothing bad had happened to Andrew, who had led them here. Or, even worse, if he had set them up for a reward, but she pushed those thoughts from her head.

A voice carried through the still, dry air from a megaphone.

'You are under arrest! Get out of the plane! Lie down on the floor!'

Pulling two pistols from the waistband of his jeans and handing one to Chloe, Nate provided cover fire, with Chloe joining in, so Elena could hustle herself over to plane which was turning slowly around for takeoff.

The police, noticing this, started their jeeps in an effort to block off the runway but they were too late and too far away.

The plane rattled as it picked up speed over the bumpy track. Nate threw himself into a seat next to Elena and prayed that the police had terrible aim.

Inside, Sully hunched in his seat, turning around every so often to see a bullet whizz past his window.

After a moment of brief hesitation, the police chief issued the order and every man stood down. He would get nothing if they weren't caught alive.

The pilot banked to the left and Nate thought he heard a crunching sound. The kind of sound that came about when something was stuck in your engine….like bullets.

Wrestling with the controls, the pilot swore as the plane began to nosedive.

Nate grabbed Elena's hand and gripped hard. He could see her mouth move but couldn't make out what she was saying over the noise of the whining engine and propellers.

He did not want to die. Not like this.

Chloe settled into the back of the seat and tried very hard not break down and cry, she was too young to die…not mention all the things she wanted to do…say…to certain people…not naming names or anything…Ted…cough…cough…

Chloe wanted to scowl at her own thought processes. She was going to die in a crappy old plane and all she could think about was a man? Well, she certainly had come a long way. She was pretty sure before meeting that…man…she would have been thinking about money or gold at such a time.

This surely something worth thinking about…when she was done being dead and all.

Sully on the other hand, had a different approach and offered prayers to every known God.

When Nate was sure they were about to hit the ground, the plane levelled off. The whine died down and the rattling subsided.

The pilot stuck his head through a small opening, 'It's ok guys, I just stalled the plane…my bad. We'll be outta here in no time.'

While Sully wondered how the hell you could stall a plane at such a crucial moment, Elena advised the pilot to fly low, among the hills.

'They saw us fall…but not get back up again. Maybe they'll think we died in the crash.'

'That's a long shot,' Chloe said, exhausted by the sudden adrenaline rush…maybe she wasn't so young anymore…and put a hand on her forehead, while her other one rooted in a bag for some painkillers that they had picked up in the city.

Nate thought for a moment before speaking, 'Well, we can't take any chances. We'll tell the pilot to land as soon as possible. I don't want to be shot out of the sky.'

'Yeah, so now we can just be shot on the ground,' Chloe grumbled.

'Once we land, we'll find another way across the border. No doubt the Sudanese have been told about us. They'll be keeping an eye on their airspace,' Nate continued, ignoring Chloe's comment.

'Sounds like a plan,' Elena said, trying to get comfortable.

Nate told the pilot who shook his head. 'I can't land now, it's too dark. I'll do it as soon as day begins.'

Figuring that this would be about two hours, Nate decided to get some sleep.

Sully who had been quiet looked at the group.

'I need the toilet.'

...

Back on the ground, in the dim night light, Chief Museveni swore and threw his beret into the ground before stamping on it.

His underlings backed away.

He was in a bad mood which probably came from the dilemma he was now in.

They had all seen the plane dive into the hills…but that was it. No explosion, no smoke. The hills didn't have any usable road and the chief wondered if it really was worth checking.

He had received orders from the commissioner himself. He was to apprehend the criminals, alive. This was the imperative part. Museveni was no fool and knew that the prisoners were probably of interest to someone who had a great deal of money. Enough to persuade the head of Uganda's police force to send fifty of his best men to capture them.

The chief had no problem with this.

In fact, he had been happy, an under the table deal like this meant that he would be in line for a bonus in his pay check.

And a man could never have too much money.

But now, his chances were ruined.

He could either lie, and say that the prisoners were dead from a plane crash or he could say they got away.

Either way, the chief knew that his bonus was out of the question and if things really got out of hand he could be demoted.

While he debated his options, a shiny black Humvee pulled up beside him. The door opened.

Chief Museveni looked up.

A strange figure stood before him.

Clad in black jumpsuit and nearly a head taller than the balding police chief, the man cast a forbidding image.

Museveni thought it had something to do with his face rather than the clothes and height.

It looked as if he had been in an accident recently. His face was heavily bandaged, indeed the chief could barely see both eyes and nose but he could make out what looked to be burns. Dark hair peeked out from under white gauze.

The person spoke and Museveni was a lesser man he would have winced. With injuries like that, talking must have hurt.

'Where is Drake?' the muffled voice asked.

Museveni, placing the accent as American, vaguely remembered that this was the name of one of the 'fugitives'.

'Who are you?' he demanded.

'My name is not important. All you need to know is that my boss is paying for your handsomely in return for the prisoners,' the man replied thickly. Museveni stiffened, this must have been more serious than he thought, if they were checking up on him now.

'They were in a plane…it crashed, it was an old thing,' he lied, making his choice.

The man waited a beat before replying, his eyes hardened. 'Are they dead?'

'I don't know,' the chief replied lamely. Tapping his foot, the American seemed to lose patience.

'Well, send someone!,' he barked, 'You were given orders to bring them in alive! If any one of them has so much as a scratch, you'll be the one to pay.'

Museveni backed away, and nearly jumped when his back hit the door of his jeep.

'Check the hills,' he told his men through gritted teeth, trying and slightly failing to keep the wobble from his voice

The American grunted in approval and crossed his arms.

...

The drone of the ageing plane's propellers made it impossible to sleep. Clearly not for Elena though, Nate thought bitterly. After spending the better part of an hour with her head leaning on him, Nate's shoulder was beginning to ache. Sure, this sort of thing look cute but in reality it hurt. A lot.

In front of him Sully was grumbling about the lack of in flight entertainment, namely an on-board movie to distract him from the fact that there were no air stewardesses he could seduce in the non-existent toilet cubicle. You can't have everything, Nate thought, trying to move his shoulder, Elena's head lolled to the other side and he sighed with relief.

Somewhere behind him, Chloe was stretched out in a painkiller induced stupor. He wondered how she was holding up and remembered how, when they were in the city he had insisted on leaving her behind, but she had stubbornly refused. Nate smiled, that was classic Chloe.

So here they were, four friends on a mission to Egypt. Just thinking about how they got to this position made Nate confused.

'I need the toilet…and an air stewardess to show me where it is,' Sully said for the fifth time. Nate raked a hand through his hair.

'Look, there isn't a toilet on this plane. How many times do I have to tell you? You're just gonna have to wait,' he said.

'Back in my day, there used to air stewardesses on every flight, I tell you. Every goddamn flight,' Sully sniffed.

'I didn't think there were even planes in 'your' time,' Nate replied, 'And anyways…there isn't even enough room for a drinks' cart.'

Sully turned in his seat, 'Nate, nobody uses the air stewardesses for drinks. If you know what I mean.'

Nate rolled his eyes, 'Suuuure….only normal people do.'

Sully grunted as the plane flew through slight turbulence, 'I need the goddamn toilet.'

Nate sighed, 'Sully you needed the loo a minute ago. You're living up to every one of my old people stereotypes.'

Sully looked wounded, 'What do you mean?'

'You need to pee all the time. You kept talking about 'back in my day'. You're getting kinda wrinkly. You complain about your knees. I'm not gonna find it surprising when you tell me you need a hip replacement. Oh sorry, and you're starting to smell…like cabbages…I don't know if that's old people but…yeah.'

Sully was quiet for a moment and sniffed his shirt, 'You're right…I do smell…but why? I haven't eaten cabbage in over thirty years.'

Nate shrugged, 'This is what happens when you get old.'

Sully looked worried and rubbed his face, 'I'm too young to be old. Maybe I should get a facelift…yeah…that'll fool 'em.'

'Maybe you should start with some deodorant,' Nate advised.

The plane juddered again and Sully winced, 'I really need to use the head.'

'Did you know,' Chloe began, having just woken, 'that the adult bladder expands ten centimetres across to accommodate urine?'

'Thanks for that,' Nate muttered.

Without much warning the lights went out and the small aircraft shuddered violently.

...

_Elena had heard the bee but she couldn't see it now._

_While Nate spoke to her parents, she took a moment to think._

_She had actually asked Nate to see her parents. Elena wondered where that had even come from but when she thought about it, she realised that she just knew. It came down to one single reason._

_He was the one._

_And as soppy as that sounded, it was the truth. It just seemed natural to be doing this. In all her life she hadn't felt so content with what she had._

_He's the guy that she takes to her parents, the one she forces to watch her niece's cello recital with, the one she kicks off the television when she wants to watch Grey's Anatomy and he wants to watch the game, the one she goes on adventures with, the one who falls asleep waiting for her when she works late to reach a deadline, the one who she depends on, the one who she thinks about all the time… _

_Elena's brow furrowed, whoa, this was getting deep and clichéd, fast._

_She had just asked him to visit her parents…nothing more, but still, she was surprised that she had been able to persuade Nate._

_It probably had to something to do with what she had promised in return. Where the hell was she going to get a bunny suit from?_

_Her mother's voice brought her back to the conversation._

'_So, Nathan, dear, where are you from?'_

_After a moment's pause, while Elena was sure he was trying to get over being called 'dear', he answered._

_Elena thought he was doing pretty well, and was realistic enough to know that something bad was probably going to happen. She just wasn't sure when._

_Pretty soon, it turned out._

...

Elena jerked awake and wrinkled her nose. 'What the-? What's that smell? Is that cabbages?'

In the seat in front, Sully gripped the armrests so hard his knuckles turned white, 'I'd apologise but I'm too busy being so goddamned scared.'

As the plane rocked and bucked, Elena instantly felt her hand seek out Nate's. She held it tight and prayed that the shaking would stop. Despite being a frequent flyer, Elena really didn't like turbulence. Nate put an arm around her shoulders in his best attempt to comfort.

'We're gonna die, Nate,' she whispered, 'We're gonna crash into the ocean and drown and be eaten by giant squids….'

'It's gonna be ok. We're not gonna die or get eaten by squids. We're not even flying over water. We'll just crash and blow up and burn to death…no eating at all,' Nate smiled as Elena paled, 'The turbulence will pass. These things…they just happen,' he reassured her, kissing her forehead, Elena closed her eyes for a second, concentrating on his voice. Think of the good times, she thought, in vain, because all she could remember was a hastily executed parachute jump out of a burning plane and that story ended with zombies. Wait, it also ended with Nate, yes, focus on that instead.

'Did you know,' Chloe said loudly, 'that squids have ten tentacles?'

Nate said something but Elena couldn't hear over the growing volume of the cabin rattling.

She opened her eyes to find Nate gazing at her, a worried expression on his face.

'I swear, every time we get on a plane…it crashes. I'm never getting on one after this,' she said and Nate looked at her.

'Not even on your own honeymoon?' he asked in what he hoped was a joking tone.

Elena went still.

As if wanting to hear what was going to happen next too, the plane quietened down. The turbulence passed.

'What was that?' she said and Nate looked confused.

'What?'

'What you just said….was that…was that a proposal?' Elena asked. Nate's mouth hung open.

'Uh…no…I don't think so…I just said it…wait…do you want it to be?' he said and Elena was silent.

'I don't know…that's how it just came across to me.'

'Did you know-,' Chloe started but got no further.

'Chloe, go back to sleep,' Nate said and she did just that.

The pilot popped his head through a small opening in the thin partition separating the cabin from the cockpit. He looked around, a smile on his broad face.

'What's going on? I heard something about squids,' he asked as Sully pried his fingers away from his armrests.

'Nate just proposed.'

Nate looked up horrified, 'No, I didn't!'

Elena made a mental note of Nate's expression. Just because they were in love and were having a child didn't mean that they had to get married. She didn't know what she thought about this and filed it away to think about properly later. Possibly when they weren't flying to one of the most dangerous countries in Africa.

'Awww, congratulations,' the pilot got out of his seat to slap Nate on the back.

'Shouldn't you be controlling this thing?' Sully wondered as the plane plummeted a few feet.

'Oh yeah. I forgot,' the pilot said and returned to his seat.

Nate frowned and wondered where Andrew had found this guy. Come to think of it, he thought, don't I fly planes? Why do we even need a pilot?

'I'm beginning to wonder the same thing,' Elena said quietly, amazing Nate once again with her female psychic powers.

They sat in silence for a while. Sully fidgeted and Chloe snored.

Comforting sounds, Nate thought to himself, he wondered if he should say something to Elena. He didn't mean to sound so shocked. Marriage was one of those things that he hadn't thought about…ever. It occurred to Nate that the first time he had thought about it was after Elena had told him she was pregnant.

Is that why I want to marry her? Nate shook his head and paused. Wait, do I even want to do that in the first place? Hold the phone, can't she read my thoughts? Crap.

Elena was turned towards the small circular window.

He rubbed the back of his head and took a slow deep breath, 'Uh, Elena about this…proposal thing.'

Elena was quiet and Nate wondered if had made a mistake. Unfortunately for him, he never got to find out. Not with such pressing matters at hand.

'I need the toilet,' Sully said to no one in particular but knew it would annoy Nate.

'Did you know,' Nate groaned when he heard Chloe's voice, 'that 'The Proposal' is a film starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds?'

Elena mumbled something and rested her head on Nate's shoulder, fast asleep.

Feeling the ache creep back into his arm, Nate got the feeling that even if it wasn't meant to, it was going to be a long flight.

...

_The bee was back and for no apparent reason, like bees usually do, decided to fly around Nate's head._

_Elena watched amused as Nate tried to speak but her parents were busy watching it hover by his ear. They couldn't help themselves, it was just so…distracting._

_Linda Fisher reached for the morning newspaper and rolled it up, in what Nate would call a sinister way, if that was even possible._

_Nate had never been so scared in his life, that was the newspaper with all the leaflets and weekend magazines, somebody was gonna het hurt if that thing was mishandled._

'_Uh, are you sure that's necessary?' he asked, 'It might just fly away…'_

'_Better to get it now before it does any harm, dear,' Linda said, advancing slowly while raising her arm. James heaved a resigned sigh and gave Nate an apologetic look. _

_Usually, Nate thought, you hit the bee against something hard, thus squashing it. Since it was by his ear, he got the horrible feeling that the hard thing was going to be his head._

_He did not want bee all over him._

_Why wasn't Elena saving him?_

_He half turned his head, trying not to agitate the pest._

'_Oh, Nate, you've got a bee by your ear, don't worry though, my mom's pretty good at taking them down,' Elena said, kindly. He gave her an incredulous look._

_Stealthily, Mrs Fisher approached with her makeshift weapon, as if sensing danger the bee moved closer to Nate's ear. _

_Mrs Fisher saw this and smiled thinly._

_She took a step forward. _

_The bee moved closer to Nate's ear, its butt-stinger pointing at his ear lobe, daring the woman to come closer._

'_Ooo, he's a sly one,' Linda whispered._

_Nate looked out the corner of his eye, wondering what was happening._

_Holding nothing back, Linda suddenly struck. Split seconds before, the bee pierced Nate's cheek and died. The newspaper thwacked the side of Nate's head with such force that he actually moved._

_Nate let out a cry of pain._

_Elena stood up to assess the damage._

_Linda took a step back._

_James took another swig of his beer and wondered how two of his daughters had managed to get married._

_Mrs Fisher looked a little put out. 'I missed,' she said, sounding disappointed, 'Something wrong, dear?' she added when she saw Nate holding his hand to his face._

_Elena pried it away and grimaced. _

'_I think you're allergic to bee stings,' she said calmly._

_Nate's face felt weird, he touched it gingerly, it felt kinda….heavy…but only on one side- the stung side. 'How can you tell?'_

_Elena led him to the mirror in the hallway and Nate took a look._

_It was bad. Very bad._

_..._

Chloe woke to the sound of bird song and hated it.

Bloody birds, she thought to herself, I don't sing out loud in the morning for everyone to hear, why the hell do you?

Feeling a migraine coming on, her mind felt foggy, an after affect of the drugs she was taking, and as she peered around the cramped cabin she tried to remember why she was even here.

Nate looked at her with a haggard face. Bloodshot eyes and stubble galore.

Chloe made a disgusted face, 'What happened to you?'

'I didn't sleep at all and my arm feels like a dead weight, Elena was sleeping on my shoulder the whole time,' Nate whispered hoarsely and Chloe looked at him with sympathy.

'At least you weren't shot in the leg,' she said as brightly as she could. Nate gave her a baleful look.

Climbing down a rickety set of stairs out of the plane, Nate found himself in a rainforest.

Chloe followed and screwed up her eyes in the light, even though it was fairly shaded under the canopy of trees. If Chloe was paying attention she would have realised that the canopy was a lot closer that it should have been. The bird song was even louder here and doing nothing to help her headache. As soon as she had left the plane she wanted to get back in.

Elena yawned and stretched, refreshed.

Sully, understandably, was overjoyed at the number of bushes.

Then Nate realised where he was standing. 'Uh guys…don't look down but I think we're in the trees.'

Everybody looked down.

Sure enough, they were standing on the thickest branch any of them had ever seen. They were surrounding by the thick canopy of rainforest trees, roots hung down from branches, entangled in the plane's framework. Birds sat and watched from neighbouring trees and a family of monkeys wondered who had invaded their morning breakfast run.

Chloe looked at the pilot. 'Um…how did you land this plane?'

The pilot was smiling, 'Well, I knew we were trying to be all stealthy like, so I decided to hide the plane in the trees…and how do you hide a plane in a tree?'

Sully couldn't believe they were being asked this question.

Elena was surprised he was even expecting an answer.

'You crash it into the trees?' Chloe asked slowly, bewildered by this man.

'Bingo!'

Sully and Elena stared. Chloe grunted. Once again she hadn't quite left all the crazy people behind. It was like she was attracting them…like honey attracts bees, she thought.

Nate looked around and then down from the dizzying height.

'Now what?'

* * *

**Ok…that took long and most of it was already written…I've never been stung by a bee and I don't want to either. **

**When I first wrote older parts of this chapter, which was everything that happened on the plane…I hadn't seen the film 'The Proposal' by the time I actually put the chapter up…I had…and I watched it three weeks ago…I am being way too slow…**

**And you guys didn't need to know that either…**

**Now the even more frustrating bit…I dunno…it might not be actually.**

**My A-levels are coming up on me so I have to revise hard and be Asian and get my good grades…so it might take even longer to get chapters out so please be patient…I guess you already are if you waited this long…**

**They finish at the end of June…which is a long way away…and after that I'm going to go nuts and do whatever because I would have finished school forever…my whole life story here..sorry.. **

**What I'm trying to say…is that chapters will be churned out slowly…very slowly…sorry**

**Thanks for reading and being awesome and reading..ok…**


	13. Feelings In The Forest

**Yo**

**Last time, the gang ended up in a rainforest and the police were looking for them, in the past, Nate got stung by a bee…**

**Need to write out what happened to the rest of characters before I forget about them, because I am the sort of person who would do that**

**The other day I was reading the manual for the first Uncharted game and it said that Elena found fame after winning a reality TV survival show and then she got her own little show….I did not know that…just goes to show…I assumed she was always a journalist person…**

* * *

Chapter 12

Phil was angry. So very angry.

His compound was a mess, everything had been or was on fire…even _he_ had been on fire, if only for a moment.

He had surprised himself at the speed in which he'd literally jumped out of his burning underwear. A sight that Ted never wanted to see again.

Speaking of the man, Phil wondered where his next in command had gotten too.

Considering what had happened, he thought it was obvious that Ted report in.

If Ted was dead, then he had a serious problem, not that he cared for the man or anything, but nobody quite got things done like him.

Exploding the camp, had worked…to a certain degree. The spartoi hadn't been killed but it had been stunned long enough for a cage to be set up. One with thick wire and a bazillion volts running through it. The type people boast about at dinner parties, if Phil went to such things.

It didn't take long after the attack for Phil to realise that his prisoners were gone with the only leads he had. That very morning, after locating a pair of slightly less charred underclothes, Phil had taken his first proper look at the destruction.

Bodies, rubble, tents, weapons and pop tarts littered the ground before him. He picked up one of the sugary confections and nibbled. Overdone but not inedible which was good enough for Phil.

Breakfast was served.

Now he sat in a salvaged deckchair, watching his troops scurrying to and fro while he sipped ice tea which Doris had so kindly remembered to save from total annihilation. He liked a woman who had her priorities set out straight.

He had also been able to get in touch with the commissioner of the Ugandan police force, so hopefully the jaw bone and teeth would soon be returned to his possession and this time he would kill one of them…for sure. Maybe he'd make Ted do it. Teach him a lesson for being so lenient.

Toying with these thoughts, it never occurred to Phil that Ted could be the reason that his prisoners had escaped. He didn't think him quite capable.

But then again, his surname was Wanalulu. Phil scowled for a second. Who knew what a man like that could be thinking?

…

'How are we going to get down from here?' Chloe asked.

The group looked at ground beneath them and Nate took hold of a twisted vine, testing its strength.

'I'm surprised you even had to ask,' Elena muttered, watching as Nate slid down the length of trunk.

'That's true,' Sully commented, 'I complain about my knees but it amazes me how I can still do all this stuff.'

Saying this he grabbed another vine and made his way down in an abseiling fashion. There was a horrifying creaking sound and for a moment, Chloe thought that the branch was going to snap. After nothing happened, she wondered whether it was just Sully's knees. Chloe thought it prudent to ask.

'Were those your knees?' she called down, well, if the branch was actually breaking she wanted to know so she could hold onto something. She hadn't made it out captivity, been shot in the leg, fired at while in a plane all just to die from a branch in a jungle.

Chloe had decided. When she was going to die, it was going to be in style. Although she wasn't really sure how that worked. Maybe you had to be wearing a really fashionable pair of shoes or perhaps a designer handbag. Chloe didn't like that idea. She was not a handbag person. She was more of a gun person to be honest. Or treasure…

'Yeah,' Sully shouted back up breaking Chloe's train of thought.

She was going to reply with quip about getting Sully's knees fixed when Elena suddenly pitched forward.

Before anything bad happened, the pilot caught her.

'Are you ok?' Chloe asked. Elena blinked, she felt a little faint and rubbing her forehead, she felt her stomach rumble. Chloe smiled in relief.

'So you're just hungry? When we get down from here we can eat something,' she said and offered her hand to the other woman. Elena didn't think it was hunger, she felt more nauseous than anything. Maybe she just needed to sit down for a while.

On the ground, Nate wondered what the holdup was. They needed to get to Egypt as fast as possible but even if he didn't want to admit it, no one was going to find the plane now. The branches had wound and twisted over the plane in an effort to compete for sunlight. It had happened so quickly that it seemed like the trees were alive. Nate shivered. The last thing he needed were mystical trees.

This would buy them a little more time but Nate wouldn't put it past Phil to find out where they were going.

Finally, after much foot tapping the two women and the still grinning pilot arrived.

Bringing out a compass and a map from his backpack, Nate conferred with the pilot about where they actually were and where they were going to go next.

The other two grouped around Elena who was perched on a rock, sipping water. It wasn't really helping though.

'Let's make a plan,' she said, trying to keep her mind from her current state. Wow, she really felt like being sick.

'I don't know why we should bother,' Chloe said, 'It's not like anything actually goes according to them.'

'Yeah, but I'd feel better knowing we had one,' Elena replied.

'I'm guessing we're going to Sudan, by foot and then from there we're going to Egypt, by foot….guys I don't think I'm gonna live long enough to see this trip through,' Sully moaned.

'If we get out of this forest I'm sure the pilot knows somebody who can help us,' Elena said. Sully glanced doubtfully at the pilot.

'I'm not sure, he's a little….out there,' he said raising his eyebrows.

Chloe huffed. 'Why can't we just have an Indiana Jones montage, with the theme tune and that big map. This could be all over in a minute.'

Elena smiled weakly and put her head between her knees, the nausea increased regardless, 'That would be nice except we don't live in a film.'

'No unfortunately we live in something much worse,' Chloe muttered bemused as Elena threw up, '…real life.'

Sully jumped backwards to avoid splash.

Chloe wrinkled her nose.

As if he knew something was suddenly wrong with Elena, Nate hurried over.

'OhmyGod,' he said quickly holding Elena's face in his hands, 'Are you ok? Does it hurt? Were you bitten by a snake? Was it long snake? Was it green? Did it have googly eyes?'

Chloe put a hand up while wondering if there such things as googly eyed snakes, 'What is this? Twenty questions? Give her some space, she was just sick. That's all.'

Nate whirled and grabbed her by the shoulders, 'That's just the beginning! Snake bites are deadly, once the venom spreads there's no coming back. Infection sets in…nausea…paralysis…death.'

He whispered the last word like a possessed man and Chloe gave him a flat look.

'Nate, I'm fine,' Elena breathed, 'I think it's just morning sickness.'

Nate went very still and Chloe wondered what he was thinking.

He slowly lowered himself onto rock beside Elena's. He was so pale that Sully felt more worried about him than Elena

'What's wrong?' he asked. Nate looked at Elena.

'I actually forgot you were pregnant for a moment,' he said slowly, trying to figure out the familiar emotions running through him and Elena took a moment to absorb this information.

'Um, sorry, but how can you forget something like that?' Chloe butted in.

'I just got so caught up in the moment, it felt like we were on an adventure again. I didn't have to think about things like that before,' Nate tried to explain. 'Now I have to worry about a child…my child…wait…why are you even here?' he turned to Elena again.

Elena gave him a disbelieving look, 'I came to rescue you.'

Nate wiped a palm against his forehead. He knew that of course, it was just…now he had more worries. Pregnant Elena plus bad guys with guns equalled disaster. He didn't want her hurt…in fact he wanted her a thousand miles away where he knew she would be safe.

Elena knew Nate well enough to see where this was going.

Her eyes hardened, 'Look, I came to save you, knowing full well what I was getting into but I figured, what the hell, if I managed to save you then our child wouldn't grow up fatherless and we could be a family-.'

'Yes but if anything happens to you…we're not even going to get to that stage,' Nate retorted, feeling his anger rise. How had he been so stupid? This was the person he cared about the most and their child. 'I'm sorry Elena but when we get out of this forest you have to go home.'

'How noble of you,' Elena shot back sarcastically, 'Send the pregnant female home! Chloe got shot in the leg and she can come along but I just throw up once and I gotta take a hike? No way. I'm seeing this through, I'm the one who recognised that symbol in the first place.'

'She's got a point,' Sully murmured and took a step back when Nate glared at him.

'Please don't bring me into this,' Chloe muttered, not wanting to be there at all. The pilot's grin dimmed a fraction.

Nate was at his wit's end. He did not want this. Now they were fighting, what next? He stared at Elena's stomach for a moment as if he could just tell the thing to bugger off.

Elena let out an exasperated sigh, 'Just say it Nate, let it out.'

Nate felt his irritation spike and let loose those deep unheard thoughts, 'Fine, you know what, I give up. I don't want that child. I wish this had never happened. I thought it would come between us and you know what? It has.'

He stomped off as thunder rumbled in the sky. The light faded.

Elena looked ready to break down. She tried to hold back her emotions, tried to keep calm but as the first rain drops fell so did her tears.

Chloe watched as Elena's head dropped into her hands as she sobbed, unashamed of who heard.

Was she meant to deal with this? Being the only other female, Chloe got the feeling that she was.

She edged over and awkwardly patted Elena's back. The heavy rain had already drenched everything and Chloe wondered if this was the only shower she was going to get. After another gut wrenching sob from Elena, Chloe's thoughts turned back to her friend and she pulled her into a hug.

'There, there,' Chloe mumbled, not really knowing what to say, 'uh…it'll be alright. Nate was just being an idiot. He probably didn't mean half of what he said.'

'Which half?' Elena choked out, digging in her pockets for a tissue which was already damp.

'Erm…the good half?' Chloe started and Elena paused in her crying to frown at her. Chloe shrugged.

'What do you expect? I don't do this sort of thing often. What do you think I should say?'

Elena smiled and blew her nose. Chloe sighed in relief, at least she had stopped crying.

'Do you think I overreacted?' Elena wondered looking up at the canopy of trees.

_Well, duh, _Was the first thing that went through Chloe's mind but she didn't say anything. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she rephrased.

'Well…I think it was something to do with being pregnant…hormones and all that…not that I would know or anything.'

'What am I going to do now?' Elena muttered.

Chloe didn't know what to say.

...

Sully saw Nate shove things violently into his rucksack and watched as his friend suddenly slowed down, shoulders heaving in a great sigh.

Maybe he should go say something manly. Sully was about to move when the pilot held him back.

'I've got this one,' he said solemnly and approached Nate.

Sully gaped.

Curiosity made him inch closer so he could hear what was going to be said.

The pilot handed Nate the compass and he took it, defeated.

As soon as he the words left his mouth, Nate wished they hadn't. They were said to cause the maximum pain to Elena and he guessed he had done that, considering the sobs he'd heard. It wasn't true, he didn't think.

To be honest he hadn't thought about it much but he had gotten over it…even accepted it. He'd even gotten close to enjoying the idea of being a parent. And then he had just gone and blown it.

What worried him most was that Elena wouldn't forgive him but he had just wanted to get those feelings out. To just vent some steam. A man was allowed to vent, wasn't he? Yes, well, he had done it now and sorely regretted it.

The pilot touched his shoulder in a knowing way and Nate looked at him wondering why Sully, his own friend, wasn't giving him the pep talk.

'Uh, where's Sully?' Nate asked, looking past the pilot who shook his head.

'It's ok. I know how to deal with this.'

Nate looked unconvinced, 'Really?'

The pilot nodded, dead serious, 'When things like this happen, there is a thing we say in Uganda.'

Nate sighed inwardly, ready to face whatever ancient proverb the pilot was going to throw at him. He was not expecting what was about to come.

Happy that he had been given the chance and determined not to spoil it, the pilot took out a ukulele from his own backpack and plucked the strings.

'_Hakuna matata_…,' he began in a sing song voice.

Sully fell over. The pilot strummed.

Nate just stared, unable to say anything.

'_What a wonderful phrase,' _the pilot continued, twanging the strings of his instrument.

…

Chloe was talking things over with Elena when she suddenly sat up, frowning.

'Hold on. Why am I hearing Lion King music?' she demanded as if Elena could answer.

'I can't hear anything,' Elena said after a pause. Chloe held up a hand and sure enough over the sound of the persistent rain Elena could make out a tune.

Chloe and Elena looked at each other.

'This is possibly the weirdest thing that has ever happened to me; listening to the Lion King in the rainforest,' Elena said, standing up so she could investigate.

'I bet you a fiver that something stranger is going to happen,' Chloe said, she would have bet more but she wasn't sure she actually had that much on her.

Elena grinned, 'You're on, but you have to admit…so far this is the winner.'

Chloe couldn't disagree and the two women went to look for Timon and Pumbaa.

…

Nate wanted it to stop and upon seeing the others, gave them a pained look.

Chloe rolled her eyes when she saw the pilot halfway through his song.

Elena was thinking she had just won a bet.

Sully still hadn't picked himself up off the floor.

At some point Chloe had heard enough and snatched the ukulele away.

The pilot just looked at her.

'Why were you singing?' she asked in a no nonsense voice.

The pilot smiled and pointed to Nate, 'I am cheering him up.'

Chloe looked at Nate. He didn't look very cheered up to her.

'I don't think it worked,' she muttered and the pilot silently agreed.

Thinking that this was the time to make things right because nobody liked to travel with depressed people, Chloe whispered something to the pilot and left with him, dragging Sully by his shirt collar behind her.

Nate looked at Elena and rubbed the back of his neck.

They stood steps apart. So close, but so distant Nate thought bitterly.

He wondered how he was going to make things right.

…

From her vantage point behind an elaborate looking shrub plant. Chloe grunted.

What was taking them so long? By her estimation, if this was her, she would have beaten the apologies out of the person and just be done with it but for some reason these two were just being dense.

'What are we doing again?' Sully said, wiping mud from his trousers.

Chloe watched as Nate and Elena stood, not speaking, not touching, not anything. 'We're helping those two make up with each other.'

The pilot looked through the leaves, 'It doesn't seem like they are doing much. Maybe I should go back out there and sing.'

'No! Are you crazy?' Chloe hissed, if anything she wasn't going to allow anymore singing.

'A good song makes everyone feel better,' the pilot insisted. Chloe disagreed.

'If we leave them alone for long enough, they'll come to,' Sully said, 'We don't have to sit here and watch.'

'Hmm, I need to do something that will make them start talking,' Chloe mused out loud. The pilot handed her a rock and she looked at him in understanding.

'Finally we see eye to eye on something,' she said and lobbed the rock at Nate's head.

Sully raised an eyebrow at her, jabbing a thumb at the pilot, 'And he's the crazy one?'

…

Nate was about to say something, when out of nowhere, a rock came down from the heavens and struck Elena on the head.

She dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

…

Sully cursed.

Chloe looked surprised.

'Woops, may have put a bit too much welly into that one.'

Sully looked at Elena, 'A bit? I think you killed her.'

Chloe peered through the leaves, 'Let's just see what happens next.'

…

Nate skidded on his knees as he came to a halt by the fallen Elena. He shook her shoulders in desperation. This could not be happening.

She didn't wake. It didn't occur to Nate to check her vitals or do something helpful. He found himself in a state of panic, his mind running through a hundred thoughts at break-neck speed. Then suddenly he stiffened. Shock evident on his face.

What if she doesn't get up? Would the CSIs come and say she died of blunt force trauma?

A sudden realisation came over him.

Was _God _angry with him?

Nate nearly gasped, had he acted like such an idiot that God himself had thrown a lump of rock at Elena's head to punish him?

He felt like shouting something out. A manly cry of despair but then Elena woke.

She swore but to Nate it was music to his ears. He smiled through the rain.

'I thought you were dead,' he said breathlessly, helping her sit up.

'Hardly,' Elena muttered gingerly touching the bump on the side of her forehead. Nothing more life affirming than a headache the size of a Big Mac plus large fries.

She was about to say something when Nate stopped her, he had to make things right before anything else fell out of the sky and knocked her out.

'While you were out cold, I was thinking…I'm sorry I said all that stuff. I didn't mean it I was just annoyed…I don't know what came over me and I acted like a jerk…I'm worried about you and the kid. It's a weird new feeling that I haven't got used to yet. So…if you could forgive me, that would be nice…yeah…that's what I wanted to say.'

Considering that she had only been unconscious for about a minute, Elena thought he had done a lot of thinking.

'I don't think I was being entirely reasonable either,' she said putting a hand on his cheek, wincing as a thin trickle of blood reached her eye. 'What actually happened?'

'We were just standing and then a rock fell on your head,' Nate said simply, wiping her face. Elena looked around above her wondering where this rock fell from.

While she pondered over the mysterious rock, Nate sat down suddenly and pulled Elena into his lap.

'What are you doing?' Elena laughed, surprised, still slightly dizzy from her attack. Nate held her close, resting his chin on her head.

'I was really scared,' he muttered, 'Now that I actually think about it, it was kinda silly, it _was_ just a rock.'

Elena was quiet and listened to rain pattering on the forest floor, when was the last time she had been this close to him? Too long, she thought to herself. As much as she enjoyed adventures, alone time was what she wanted most. Just her and Nate.

When she didn't say anything, Nate continued, 'It's different now, every time you get hurt, even if it's as something as small as a paper cut, I overreact.' He smiled to himself, 'I worry about you more than ever and I don't think I can control it.'

'I understand,' Elena said quietly, there was nothing more she could say to that. Nate's honesty meant more to her than anything and he was trying hard, she knew. Nate wasn't the best at telling feelings.

'I guess, what I'm trying to say is that…I didn't mean to trample over your feelings and I should have thought about what you were going through too.'

Elena turned and looked him in the eye. He looked back, brown eyes calm, steady, serious with just a hint of worry.

Placing both hands on his face she spoke, 'You don't have to keep apologising. You were right. I did put myself and our child in danger without even asking you but I was scared too. I didn't want to lose you. I don't want to lose you.'

He wanted to say something, make a promise, something along the lines of: I'll never leave you, but Nate was realistic enough not to make a promise he couldn't keep. He knew Elena knew that too and she would only get angry. They had gotten so far, and not without its rough patches. He wasn't even sure how they started fighting not long after their very first adventure. Probably over something really stupid, he thought. If he were superstitious that way Nate would have thought it fate that put them back together again after that but Nate didn't like to think that he was being controlled. He made his own decisions and he did after that grenade in Asia which gave him the shock he supposed he needed.

They had a real shot at a life together, he thought and he wasn't going to throw that away because he couldn't handle Elena being in danger. The woman loved him, had risked her life and their unborn child's to save him. That was how much he meant to her. What kind idiot was he to throw that back in her face?

Elena wondered what Nate was thinking about but didn't speak. There was no need. They had come to an understanding.

Nate rested his forehead against hers and she cringed when he made contact with the purpling bruise at her temple.

He frowned, 'Does it hurt?'

'Like a mother bleeper,' Elena said with a smile which Nate returned.

'Let me see if I can't do something about that,' he murmured before kissing her.

Light headed, Elena thought, that was what happened to her when Nate kissed her. That and it worked wonders for her headache which had reduced to Happy Meal size.

'Did it work?' he asked, Elena smiled against his lips.

'So well, that I think I need another.'

Nate was only too happy to oblige.

* * *

**Uh yeah…I wasn't planning on ending like that but I thought…what the heck? Might as well.**

**Important questions will be answered in the next chapter like how did none of them notice that they had crashed into trees?**

**Also something to even the bet between Elena and Chloe**

**I was meant to put all that in this one but kinda left it too late…**

**Because I stopped the chapter here, I finished it quicker so yeah my exams do start on Wednesday…Biology…fun times…**

**I never knew that Pumbaa was spelt like that…**

**If googly eyed snakes exist…wow…**

**I'm not the biggest fan of football…soccer…whatever… but I seem to be watching that too because of the world cup so less time for writing…sorry**


	14. Miguel

**Heyhey,**

**My exams have been over for some time now, I just haven't found the time to write…mostly because I've been putting it off…because I didn't know what to do next…**

**I actually started writing this chapter and then about half way through, I was like 'screw this' and decided to just go with the present…this is what I do when I have no idea what's happening in the story…write something completely different…that and somebody asked me when I was going to go back to the present when I had kinda forgotten about it…**

**So finally, the present day arrives…for one chapter only…then back to the times where chapters can revolve around something as silly as singing 'Hakuna Matata'**

**In the last chapter, the pilot did just that, Elena and Nate had a fight, Chloe threw a rock, Sully did nothing much…same old…**

* * *

Chapter 13

_Present day_

Far away, in Iceland somewhere, a volcano continued to erupt. It had been doing so for some time now. A constant stream of ash flowed out of the rocky cone.

Ash particles small enough to stop the engine function of any self respecting passenger aircraft.

...

Elena felt groggy.

Without opening her eyes, she could tell that she was lying down, hot, sweaty, uncomfortable and a host of other undesirable feelings.

Had she been asleep?

She couldn't remember.

What had even happened?

She didn't know the answer to this either and flicked her eyes open, blinking rapidly while they adjusted to the bright light.

Staring straight up at the ceiling, Elena could tell that she was in the same Turkish hospital that she had been making the report in. She would recognise those useless, creaky ceiling fans anywhere.

Did she fall over or something?

Elena frowned and tried to sit up but found that she couldn't, an explosion of pain somewhere around her mid-region told her to stay put.

Somebody moved beside her and she looked over to see one of her crew members snoozing on a hard wooden chair. In a bemused way, she rather admired him, it was almost impossible to be comfortable enough to sleep deeply in one of those sorry excuses for sitting furniture.

She tried to speak but her tongue felt like it had been glued to the roof of her mouth, that and her throat felt like carpet, the hairy kind.

Elena decided that she really needed some water.

Managing only the smallest of grunts which failed to wake her crew member, she tried to get the water jug herself. It was only on the bedside table, next to her. She would be able to reach.

It seemed that reaching wasn't the problem, and as her arm swung over she found that her fingers weren't as responsive as they usually were and her hand knocked the jug off the table.

Elena sighed, frustrated, and watched the water puddle expand across the stained linoleum floor. Something stirred in her mind. A memory, just a flicker, but enough to jump start her addled brain.

As the mental fog began to lift, Elena had a sudden vision of water flowing the same way before she woke up here. No, not water, it was red. Blood. Her blood.

It came rushing back, the lack of cushion, the unbearable heat, the presumed sweat which turned out to be blood, the reaching out for the door and not quite making it.

Panic welled inside of Elena and she tilted her head to look at her bloated stomach.

Except, it wasn't now.

It was flat.

…

The mobile phone started to vibrate.

Chloe scowled, not bothering to open her eyes. Just once, just once she would like to get an uninterrupted night's sleep. It didn't matter that it was the afternoon and she should have been up by now. She wasn't even sure why she had set the phone to 'silent' anyways. It's not like it actually was, you could be in a crowded room and still hear the damn mechanical vibrating.

Hoping the infernal device would spontaneously combust, Chloe tried to move her legs and roll over only to find that she couldn't. Her sleep fuddled mind concluded that her legs were trapped in sheets and instead she twisted, flinging an arm out.

It hit something solid. The thing grunted.

This was unexpected.

The phone stopped vibrating.

After some experimental movements, Chloe understood the mass to be occupying at least half the double bed in her London hotel room. Her scowl reduced to a frown as she moved her hand wildly about, assessing the shape and identity of the mass.

Her hand hit something that could only mean one thing.

Oh yes, there was a man in her bed. The kind with no clothes on. This is what Chloe usually thought of as the best kind of man but it really wasn't the time to be thinking like that. And no, her legs weren't caught up in sheets, just tangled with the man's.

Lovely, Chloe thought.

Before she could fully bring herself to wake up the mobile started to vibrate again. The other occupant of the bed was having none of this and without even moving or cracking an eyelid he reached out lazily, groped the bedside table blindly and picked up the phone.

'Hello?' Chloe heard a slightly hoarse voice say.

Ah, she thought, now she remembered.

There was a moment's quiet and then the man handed her the phone.

'It's for you,' Ted said sleepily and having given her the phone, went back to sleep. Chloe looked at him for a moment, wishing she could join him in his slumber but put her ear to the phone.

'Hello?'

'_Uh, Chloe? It's Nate, look I don't have much time, but she's in trouble and I had to tell you, I gotta get there quick, I haven't even told Sully yet, Damn, I have to do that too-.'_

Chloe cut her friend off from his verbal diarrhoea, it was taking time for her brain to engage, 'What are you talking about, Nate? Slow down and start from the beginning.'

She heard a large breath being taken. _'You know Elena went to Turkey right? Well, something's happened to her, I just got a call from one of her crew members. She's over there and I'm over here. I need to get to her._'

The sentences were short and rapid. It took all of Chloe concentration to follow. Sure, she had heard something about Elena going to Turkey but that was about it. Wait a minute. Wasn't Elena really closing to giving birth?

Chloe inhaled sharply as she connected the dots.

'Oh my God. Is the baby ok? I mean what is it, exactly, that happened?' she asked.

' _I don't know, they told me she was bleeding…a lot and that she was unconscious, they don't know about the baby yet. She's been taken to hospital and is apparently stable but that's all I know. She hasn't woken up yet. I just thought I'd tell you…I don't know what to do,' _Nate finished, his voice sounded small and Chloe's heart went out to him.

'Well, the hospitals out there can't be that bad, she was going to do a report on clinics anyway, she's gonna be fine,' Chloe wondered what else she could say. She had never been in a situation like this.

At the mention of hospitals, Ted sat up.

He noticed how Chloe had gone pale and was curious about the phone call. She could see the concern in his eyes and when he sent her a questioning look, she mouthed 'Elena' at him. He seemed to understand and looked suitably worried.

'Nate, look, I'm in London, not that far from Turkey,' Ted raised an eyebrow and Chloe rolled her eyes, 'relatively speaking, I'm going to go there and stay with Elena till you get there, ok?'

'_Thanks. I guess I'll try to catch a plane as soon as I can, hopefully direct but I'll take what I can- hold on my cell's ringing- I'll call you back.'_

With that he was gone.

…

Nate put down his land line and reached for the cell, just before he punched the button he looked at it and wondered why Ted had been the first to pick up Chloe's phone and why he had sounded so darn sleepy.

Leaving those thoughts for later, he answered his phone and nearly cried with joy at hearing Elena's voice.

Then she told him the news.

This time he did cry.

Just a little.

…

Chloe sat stock still for moment, absorbing what she had just been told.

Ted put a hand on her covered shoulder and she slowly realised that she was wearing one of his shirts. It was a comfort…of sorts.

She rubbed a hand over her forehead, her mind flooded with thoughts tinged with panic with an added pinch of hysteria. This was so….random. Things like this didn't happen to them. Chloe only had to look at the past year and know that wasn't true. Not anymore.

Untangling her legs from Ted's she crossed them and rubbed a thumb over the old scar on her thigh where Phil had shot her. Hmm, she mused, we're not as immortal as we'd like to think.

She glanced at the scars on Ted's face and brushed her fingertips over them. No, definitely not.

He covered her hand with his and held it there. 'What happened?' he asked.

Chloe relayed what Nate had told her and Ted's hand dropped to his side.

'We have to go to her,' he said simply. Chloe smiled briefly. This man would drop anything and everything he was doing to help a friend. Sometimes she was just overwhelmed by the size of his heart and wondered how they had ever made it to this hotel room. What does he see in me? Chloe thought, I wasn't like this at all, I was quite a cut throat but then again, past events had changed her irrevocably and Chloe liked to think she had become a better person.

Not too good…nobody liked a goody two shoes but a bit of sympathy here or morality there didn't do any harm.

Thinking like that had made her a more easy person to be with. Conversations and actions didn't just revolve around how to break into impenetrable museums or finding the treasure or getting it on with the bad guys just so they would trust her. No, Chloe was pretty adaptable and this is what had taken her to London. A friend had told her about a film that was being shot here and they needed someone to advise them on some action scene.

While this was right up her alley, since she had been in plenty of tricky situations, Chloe wondered what made her qualified to do be an action adviser but she went along anyways and after giving the crew a rundown of her own encounters and demonstrating the impossible things that she had done, the director had hired her straight away.

Chloe knew it was going to be a flop of a film, they usually are when the title's called, what was it? Oh yes, Jake's Fortune, wasn't that a video game? To be honest, she didn't really care, she just needed something to take her mind off certain things. Namely Ted. She thought she had gotten away from him but yesterday he turned up in her hotel room, grinning like an idiot.

No doubt, the grin annoyed her but some part of her was actually happy to see him. Chloe naturally loathed this part. She did not need a long term relationship. Ted and her…that was fun while it lasted…now she was done with him. He just didn't seem to understand that.

In the end, Ted must have done something right because they had spent the night together...in the same bed and now here they were. A new crisis on their hands. Just not a usual one.

While Chloe mulled things over, Ted watched her, yes he was worried about Elena, she was his friend, and yes, he was sorry for Nate but Chloe had that look on her face. The one she had just before she told him to hit the road. It wasn't very pleasant. It meant she had been doing too much thinking.

Ted had no plans to leave.

He cared about his friends and was going to give them the support they needed to see this through. Hospitals weren't the friendliest places when things were going downhill.

Right now, it wasn't about him and Chloe, it was about getting to Elena and making sure she knew there were people looking out for her. In his experience, a familiar face in an unfamiliar setting can be a comfort especially when you were alone. Even more so when that person was telling you the person you loved, the father of your child, was coming as quickly as possible.

This is what Elena needed and he was going to make sure she got it.

Chloe opened her mouth but Ted put a finger to her lips.

'I know what you are going to say. I'm not going anywhere, Elena is my friend too, y'know. She needs people she trusts around her. We are going together to Turkey and we're gonna tell her that Nate is coming as fast as he can. No matter what has happened to her or the baby we have to be strong otherwise she's going to find it hard to be too,' Ted finished.

It amused him to see Chloe's eyes smoulder, angry that she had been interrupted and figured out so quickly, but they cooled when she saw the sense in his words. She sighed, giving up and then raised an eyebrow at him.

'Well, if your coming, I suggest you put some clothes on,' she said and Ted grinned that annoying grin.

Chloe pushed him off the bed and went in search of her clothes. Having been shooed into the bathroom, Ted shut the door but left it unlocked. Who said Chloe might not need extra comforting in the shower? He certainly wouldn't turn her away.

Chloe however definitely wasn't feeling the bedroom mood and looked at the mess in her room.

What had they been doing last night? She didn't remember it being this crazy.

She spied a pair of trousers behind the radiator.

Soon after going in Ted came out of the bathroom, fully dressed and shaved, hair damp from a quick shower.

'How did you do that?' Chloe, only half dressed, spluttered in disbelief, 'You were only gone five minutes.'

Ted smiled, 'I would have been quicker if I hadn't waited for you to join me in the shower.'

Chloe gaped, the man was thinking about _that_ now? 'What made you think I was ever going to join you?' she managed to say.

Ted fished a pair of knickers from a lampshade and tossed them to her. At the same time he flicked on the news channel which was saying something about no flights leaving any of the London airports.

'It didn't stop you all those other times,' he said, crossing the room. Chloe frowned, that was true but things were different now. It seemed wrong to initiate bedroom/bathroom activities when her friend was in trouble.

'I can't believe you were thinking about that when our friend is in a hospital in Turkey, dying. It's clearly inappropriate and the wrong time.' Chloe grumbled, although now that he mentioned it…she wouldn't mind…no…wait…there was surely some sort of rule about this.

Ted put his arms on her shoulders, 'I'm a man, it's always going to be the right time.'

Chloe rolled her eyes but didn't resist when he led her to the rumpled bed.

Elena could hold on for a few more minutes.

Ted kissed her.

Hmm, maybe a bit longer than a few minutes.

…

Nate stared at the wall.

It wasn't as bad as it could've been.

Elena was alive. That was what mattered.

He kept telling himself that but it was hard to listen.

There were no flights to Turkey, some crappy volcano had decided to belch out copious amounts of ash, grounding every flight around the European continent. He was stuck here alone, his stricken thoughts as company.

He really needed Sully.

Nate hadn't been able to get through to him yet, he was just about to pick up his own phone to try again when the apartment door burst open.

'Goddamn!'

Nate looked up sharply…there was only one man who would say that after breaking down a door. Nate hurried out into the hallway.

'Sully?' he asked hesitantly.

'Yes, it's me! I was knocking for ages why the hell didn't you open your door? I thought you'd gone and hung yourself,' Sully coughed, hands on knees, regaining his breath 'I just heard from Miguel, Nate I'm so sorry, is Elena ok?'

Nate was silent for a moment. From all of that just one thing stuck in his mind.

'Who the heck is Miguel? And why does he know what happened to Elena?' he asked, but wasn't so bothered about the answer, he was just glad Sully was here. There was nothing like an ageing, grouchy side kick to keep your mind off things and your spirits up.

'Y'know that pilot in the jungle, ages ago…the crazy one…liked Lion King. Yeah, he's Miguel. I met him in the hardware store in town. I was buying some bolt cutters and I think he just wanted some batteries, anyways, we were chatting and then he says something about Elena being in hospital and then I was like 'Goddamn' and he was like 'I know' and then I was like-.'

Nate cut him off, putting a hand up, ' You're telling me, that the pilot, from months ago, is here, in town.'

Sully nodded, 'I know, what a coincidence, eh?'

They moved to the living room. Sully put a hand on Nate's shoulder, his gaze serious. 'Look, kid, just tell me what happened.'

Nate retold his story, including the most recent phone call and added at the end, 'If I knew you were in town I would have looked for you, I thought you were in Europe still.'

'I just got back, came by boat, I went to get some bolt cutters because the building owner put a padlock on my apartment door,' Sully explained.

Nate didn't even want to know how that came about. No doubt, Sully probably chased his wife/daughter/niece/aunt or something equally perverted. That was Sully for you.

'I don't know what to think,' Nate mumbled.

'Nobody does,' Sully said, understanding that there was a topic change, 'All you can do is think positive and remember that Elena's going through the same thing.'

'It's all my fault, I shouldn't have let her go on this stupid trip.'

Sully looked at him sternly, ' You can't be thinking like that. It's not one's fault. It's done. When is the next flight to Turkey?'

Nate sank into the sofa and let his head drop into his hands. 'I don't know…not for a week I suppose, that volcano has grounded all the flights. I'm useless, just sitting here waiting on the next phone call. I hate it. I need to be with her.'

The fates were looking down on Nate with kindness today, or a cruel sense of humour, because now Miguel the pilot was standing in the room.

'What the fudge?' Sully uttered in amazement, he didn't even hear him come in, it was like he was a ninja or something. Nate was still looking down.

'I hope you don't mind, the door was kind of broken…I just let myself in,' the pilot said, 'I heard you needed a plane.'

Nate looked up upon hearing the new voice.

'Not yours,' Sully said shortly, 'last time you flew us somewhere, you landed in the trees to hide us.'

But Nate was desperate man, driven to the edge with grief that he couldn't even comprehend, let alone get over. All he knew was that he had a chance to get to Elena that much quicker.

Sully could tell what Nate was thinking just by looking at his eyes, they were hard, determined. The resolve unshakeable.

'Oh no, Nate? You gotta be kidding, you're the one who's gonna die if you let this guy fly you.'

'I'm going to be flying,' Nate said quickly, getting his jacket.

Sully gave Miguel a pleading look but the pilot shrugged.

'A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do and he has to do this,' the pilot said, 'I will take you to my plane.'

Nate gave him a nod, as thanks.

Sully paced the floor, 'What about this ash business? You fly there sure, and then what, your engines fail and we die?'

Nate was still for a moment, 'We'll take the plane as far as we can, then we'll do whatever.'

The pilot clapped his hands together, 'Sounds like a plan.'

Sully wondered why he had to be the only voice of reason, 'This is madness.'

A long time ago, Nate would have replied, 'This is Sparta,' but it wasn't the time nor place. No, he was doing something now, something helpful and no damn volcano on the other side of the world was going to stop him from reaching Elena. This much he had figured out.

'Sully, I have to do this. This is Elena we're talking about. Before it was hopeless, but now I have a chance and I'd be an idiot not to take it.'

Sully looked at his friend, the glimmer of hope in his eyes. He had to admit, this was a stroke of luck, but it didn't sound safe.

What the heck, Sully thought, when was anything they had ever done safe?

He sighed resignedly, 'Fine, but don't let this guy drive,' he said pointing at Miguel.

Nate half smiled, it was the best he could do.

'Deal.'

…

Elena looked at it from the other side of the glass.

It was so small.

Too small even.

Something that tiny shouldn't need all those tubes and wires.

The doctor had told her that it was three weeks premature. He had said a lot of other stuff too but Elena had sort of drifted out. All she knew was that the child needed intensive care.

Elena put a hand to the glass, wishing it wasn't there so she could touch the tiny human.

It wasn't meant to be like this, she thought bitterly.

They had told her it was a boy.

She had smiled to herself, if only for a moment.

She had a son.

She was a mother.

Elena wondered how long it would last.

* * *

**Ok…the first time I wrote a chapter in the present…I was in a bad mood…**

**This time I wasn't…I was all happy and what not…its hard to be serious now…**

**I thought this chapter was going to have way more doom and gloom…but it didn't work out like that**

**It's also hard to come up with reason why not one plane would be working…thanks goodness for Icelandic volcanoes…**

**Also…I cannot do sadness…it just doesn't compute…this is a happy story…right to the end…Alot of things did make sense in this chapter but they will all be sorted out the next time a chapter about the present shows itself...**

**Recently I finished playing the Final Fantasy 13….it was quite good…although I never understood any of it…the ending was most confusing…why can't games be easy to follow…**

**Thanks for reading…hopefully, chapters will come out more quickly but I don't know…at least the football is over**

**On the whole I think video games shouldn't be turned into films...it usually turns out badly...for everyone...**


	15. Important Questions

**Ok,**

**So…back to the past…not for long though…I've noticed that this story shows no signs of ending…which is bad…because I would quite happily keep writing forever…so things are going to happen quick time…I hope**

**Having said that, I'm sure this will plod along as usual…this chapter is a bit random….**

**In the last chapter, Elena and Nate had a son, Chloe was doing stuff with Ted, Sully and Miguel made a surprise entrance…**

**Back in the past, the last thing that happened was Elena and Nate's fight, Chloe's throwing of the rock that moved things along and Sully…did whatever he usually does…**

**Awesome…**

* * *

Chapter 14

Night began to set in the equator rainforest.

Thunder rumbled deep in the sky but the clouds died back, diminishing till there was nothing but thin wisps of grey.

The rain petered out, leaving a heavy humid air.

In the light breeze, deep in the thick branches of the canopy, the mongoes swayed.

…

'Steamy,' Sully commented, eyebrows raised.

Chloe scowled heavily as she peered between the leaves of the overgrown bush. Those two didn't look like they were going to stop anytime soon.

'What's with the face?' Sully asked upon noticing his friend's expression.

'It's like they're trying to rub it in our faces, they're going at it like there's no bloody tomorrow!'

Sully was silent for a moment, 'Uh, they don't even know we're watching and I think they're just happy they're not fighting anymore.' He turned to look at her and gave her a knowing look, 'Ah, I get it, you're just bitter because you're not getting any.'

Chloe grunted, but Sully had hit the nail on the head, 'Well you're not either.'

Sully shot her a glare but couldn't disagree. These were dark times, indeed.

The pilot looked between the bemused faces of the two people he considered his friends and wondered what he could do to help them.

An idea struck him.

'If I were to kiss you, would you feel better?' he asked Chloe.

Chloe stared at him, 'What the-? Of course not! What makes you think that I even need a kiss? I'm a grown woman, I can control myself!'

The pilot backed off, 'Sorry, I was going to ask Sully as well, if that makes you feel any better.'

'It really doesn't,' Chloe muttered, it was obviously wrong to think that the pilot could have been a normal person once upon a time. Although she wouldn't have minded if it was the right person. Where was bloody Ted when you needed him? She still didn't know if he had even made it out of that explosion back at the camp.

The pilot gave Sully a look that said 'pucker up'.

Sully paled.

…

Nate thought he heard scuffling from behind a shrub, but ignored it because he was preoccupied with something else.

…

Batting the pilot away with a huff and a 'Goddamn!', Sully turned his attention to Chloe, and recognising her brooding look, made a quick connection.

He edged closer to her wiggling his eyebrows, 'I bet if Ted asked you'd be all over him right now.'

Chloe pulled her gaze away from the wriggling eyebrows and gave Sully the flattest look she could muster, 'No way.' Liar.

The pilot nodded solemnly, 'I don't think Ted would even have to ask.'

Chloe scowled, 'You don't even know the guy or anything that's been happening between us two!'

The pilot scratched his chin, 'Yes, but it seemed like a cool thing to say.'

Chloe clapped a hand to her forehead, she really was surrounded by village loonies.

Before she could beat someone senseless, a leaf was pulled aside and Nate looked at them all.

'Something the matter?' he asked, trying and failing to hide the goofy grin on his face. It was the sort of smile that told everyone in a three mile radius that he had just made out with his girlfriend.

'Wipe that idiotic grin from your face, mister,' Chloe said, 'Just tell me you're chums again and we can leave this hell hole.'

Nate turned the smile down a notch and Elena appeared putting a hand on his shoulder. Nate turned to look at her and the grin resurfaced. Chloe rolled her eyes. It wasn't quite fair that some people had all the fun.

Nate wasn't saying anything but continued to stare and Chloe wondered if she would have to slap him so he would talk. Loves struck fool, she thought darkly. She would never act like that.

Elena spoke for him, 'We're ready to move. According to the map, a couple days trek will get us out of this forest.'

Chloe was only too happy to hear this and sprang up, eager to get a move on but Sully took his time, unfolding creaky legs and dusting himself down. The pilot however remained sitting, staring towards the towering canopy.

Nate looked up, 'What's up?'

The pilot frowned a little, 'I thought I saw something….'

The others looked around, curiously, but saw nothing of interest. They left it at that and put it down to the pilot being weird. Weird people saw things all the time.

Judging that it was now too dark to actually get anywhere, Nate decided that they would head out tomorrow.

Chloe sat back down again, worried about her situation and sanity. She had been hoping to leave as soon as possible. As the others settled, Chloe hoped that the rest of this adventure would go smoothly because so far it had been anything but that.

Her hopes were in vain.

…

The morning light came quickly.

Elena wondered how long she had actually been asleep. It felt like she had just put her head down before she was up again.

Turning over she realised that Nate must've gotten up already since he wasn't beside her.

Having taken in one last minute of calm, Elena braced herself for the day and went in search of a place where she could be sick in peace.

Nate, while packing bags and checking provisions, watched Elena leave and was about to follow when Sully put a hand on his shoulder.

'If you want to keep your appetite, you'd stay where you are, kid,' he said knowledgeably. Nate cottoned on and made a face.

'Oh, right, I see, but it seems unfair that she has to go through that alone...'

Sully gave him one of those looks. The one where which said you were thinking dangerous thoughts, 'Just be glad you don't have to be sick every day. The best thing you can do is just take her mind off things. She doesn't want to worry you with her lookin' weak and everything.'

Nate grudgingly stayed where he was and then frowned, 'Where do you come up with this stuff?'

Sully shrugged, 'I read a book once.'

'On pregnancy?'

'I was bored,' the older man replied, as if this was nothing out of the ordinary.

Nate was about to say something when Chloe appeared, looking out of breath and rather pale.

'You look like you've seen a ghost,' Nate said, 'What's the matter?'

'I've just realised something,' she gasped.

'What?' Nate asked, nonplussed, wondering if she had left her oven on or something.

'Why did none of us realise that we were landing in trees? It wouldn't have been the smoothest of rides, surely someone would have noticed,' Chloe demanded. The other two were silent, contemplating this.

'You've got a point there,' Sully said.

'Also, it only rains in the rainforest in the afternoon but when we got out of the plane it started to rain…I thought it was meant to be morning. What is happening here?' Chloe added.

'How the heck did you know that?' Nate asked, that sounded like the most random piece of information.

'I did geography in high school. I learnt things,' Chloe explained.

'I'm pretty sure the world isn't going to end if we don't know how this stuff happened, maybe we should just forget it and move on,' Sully commented.

Chloe gave him a wide eyed look, 'Are you crazy? This adventure doesn't make any sense if we don't find the answers to these questions.'

'It's not that big of a deal,' Nate tried to calm Chloe down, but he too wondered why they hadn't woken up when the plane landed.

The pilot walked past them, oblivious to the suspicious stares he was receiving from the other three.

'If anyone knows, it would be him,' Chloe muttered quietly. Nate nodded.

'Let's find out.'

While the pilot perched on rock and did up his shoe laces, he noticed how the light was suddenly blocked and he looked up to find himself surrounded.

'Why didn't we wake up when you landed in the trees?' Chloe asked menacingly and Nate sighed. They were only asking questions, they didn't need to sound like they were interrogating the poor guy or anything.

'Um…you were all deeply asleep,' the pilot answered and then smiled proudly, 'I landed the plane rather well this time, we barely hit anything. Just last week I took out Mrs Lobo's washing line. Do you know how hard it is to pilot a plane with plus size underwear blocking your view?'

Nate didn't want to know.

Sully looked at him as if he were from another world, 'How long have you been flying planes?'

The pilot tapped his chin for a moment, 'Two weeks today.'

Sully grunted something that sounded like 'figures,' and turned away. Nate hadn't heard something that sounded so much like a death sentence in his whole life.

'I thought Nate was awake for the whole flight? He told me he couldn't sleep because Elena and Sully kept him up,' Chloe said after a while, thoughtfully. Even Nate remembered saying this but couldn't actually recall landing.

'What about the timing? For it to be raining, we would have had to have woken up in the afternoon, but I thought it was morning,' Chloe added still not content.

'Oh, you guys looked so peaceful sleeping, I didn't have the heart to wake you,' the pilot replied shiftily. Chloe wasn't buying it. The pilot's shoulders sagged.

'Fine then, when I was landing, I think I hit a tree trunk and I was knocked out. I only woke up when you lot did. Nate must've been knocked out too, but he was just so sleepy he didn't notice.'

'Are you ok?' Nate asked. Sully thought that this was the least likely explanation but couldn't be bothered to think of another solution.

'I think so,' the pilot said and stared upwards into the distance. Nate waved a hand in front of his face but the other man didn't respond. He gave Chloe a questioning look.

'He's does that often, just wait a few minutes and he'll snap out of it,' she said and stalked off, curiosity satisfied for now.

…

It wasn't until mid afternoon that day, when Chloe came up with another question.

After a day's trek and becoming drenched from the afternoon rains, Elena wasn't in the best of moods but she tried her hardest to keep going.

'I have a question,' Chloe said.

Sully groaned, 'What now?'

'Where are we going to get food from? I don't think we have enough provisions.'

Nate knew that this was a problem but he didn't want to alert anyone to it just yet. He'd been hoping to find something in the forest to eat but hadn't seen anything so far.

Elena stopped walking, steadied herself against a tree and closed her eyes. She looked at Nate.

'I am hungry,' she said simply, as if saying anything more was just too much effort. Nate gave her what he could find in his pack and signalled for a break.

The others dropped where they stood gratefully. It was hard work all this walking, in the heat and humidity. Chloe was finding it the hardest with her wounded leg. The painkillers worked but they wouldn't last forever.

They sat in silence and once again, Nate caught sight of the pilot staring upwards.

'Why do you keep doing that?' he asked and the pilot looked at him.

'I keep seeing something moving,' he said.

The group stiffened, it was ok to see something move once but now it was getting kind of creepy, Elena felt a chill race down her spine, 'What sort of thing?' she asked, glancing up nervously.

The pilot shook his head, 'I think it was a mongo.'

There was a beat of silent.

'Come again,' Chloe said flatly.

'A mongo,' the pilot repeated slowly.

'Isn't that the dog from that film…what was it? Oh yeah, 101 Dalmatians?' Sully asked.

Nate sighed, 'That's Pongo.'

'Oh.'

'What the hell is it then?' Chloe asked, wondering if she should get out her gun. This mongo sounded like some freaky forest creature.

The pilot looked at her as if she were a plank of wood, 'You don't know what a mongo is?'

'I'm pretty sure no one has ever heard of a mongo, except for you,' Elena said, trying to keep a reign on her temper. The pilot looked at them.

'Really?'

'Yes, now just tell us if we have to shoot the thing,' Chloe muttered, anxiously, swivelling her head to get a sight on this mongo.

Before the pilot could explain, something fell from the branches.

In a spell of cosmic equality, it landed on Chloe's head and she was sent sprawling.

'Oof!' Chloe managed a sound as she hit the floor. Nate winced.

'Well, Goddamn,' Sully said, thinking that Chloe deserved it after lobbing a rock at poor Elena.

Chloe rubbed her head as she stood again, holding onto Elena for support.

'What was that?' Elena asked breathlessly, helping the other woman up.

'Mongoes,' the pilot replied.

Sully gasped, 'We're under attack! Run for the hills, women and children first-.'

Nate picked up the missile and held up a hand, 'Hold on, this is just a mango.'

He held up the soft fruit which the others stared at.

Sully squinted at it and gingerly touched the rounded lump in Nate's hands, getting his hands sticky in the process. He licked a finger.

'It _is_ a goddamn mango,' he said and stared at the pilot.

'Did the mongoes throw the mango at us?' Sully asked. The pilot gave him a weird look as if he himself were the normal one.

'Uh no, _that_ is a mongo,' he replied pointing at the fruit in Nate's hand.

Chloe ran a hand through her hair as if expecting what was going to come next, 'No, it's called a mango,' she said wearily. Could this man be any more stupid?

'I've always called it a mongo,' the pilot said. Evidently he could, Chloe thought, wondering how this man had managed to live his life. It wasn't even as if he were speaking in an accent or anything. He actually genuinely believed that it was called a mongo.

'That's just weird-ass, no one and I mean no one calls that thing a mongo,' Sully spluttered in disbelief.

The pilot looked hurt.

Nate could see this getting out of hand quickly and uncontrollably. 'Mongo or mango, it doesn't matter. It's food, we can eat it.'

This seemed to work.

'You know, I actually love mangoes, they're one of my favourite fruits,' Chloe said, the pilot's strangeness momentarily forgotten, peeling the one that had fallen on her head with a hunting knife. She handed a chunk to Elena who took it thankfully.

'Uh, Nate?' Sully asked, looking up.

'Yeah?'

'How are we gonna get more down?'

Nate looked up and saw what Sully meant. The canopy was twenty meters or so high, too high to throw stones at.

'I guess someone will have to climb and throw them down.'

Sully jabbed a thumb at the pilot, 'I think he just volunteered.'

'I did?' the pilot wondered.

'Yes,' Sully replied and led him over a thick tree trunk. It was smooth but covered in epiphytic plants, which wound their way around the trunk, all the way to the top.

'These oughta' hold you,' he added, the pilot looked at him.

'I have a better idea,' the pilot said.

Sully sighed, exasperated, 'What? You gonna call the monkeys down to collect the mangoes for us?'

There was a moment of quiet. The pilot avoided the gazes of the others.

'Oh my God! You _were_ thinking that!' Chloe said amazed.

'Well it's worth a try,' the pilot mumbled.

Nate sat down next to Elena and put an arm around her. 'They're all crazy, right?'

Elena wore a small smile, 'Everyone except us.'

Nate watched amused as his friends argued, even if they were in the middle of a rainforest, it somehow felt as if everything was going to be alright. Even now he felt like laughing.

Looking at Elena for a moment, Nate let his thoughts wander. She leant into him a little, resting her head against his shoulder

'You ok?' he asked.

'Yeah, I just want to get out of this damned forest,' She grumbled and Nate found himself smiling. If that was the only thing that was the matter then things were definitely ok.

A mango dropped from above. Nate looked up to see what looked to be a monkey in a tree.

The pilot waved his arms about on the forest floor, making weird sounds.

Elena stared.

'You have got to be kidding me.'

…

The goat herder sat on a dead tree stump, ready for the lonely day. The dry air barely irritated him anymore, and the sun's heat no longer caused him trouble. He'd been doing this for too long.

Clicking his tongue and whistling to keep his goats together the boy passed his time, expecting his day to go how the past seven hundred and thirty days went: utterly unexciting.

He didn't even notice the figures heading towards him until they were close enough to scare his herd.

…

Chloe smelled something. Or someone. She wasn't sure but two days in a very wet forest could do that to you.

She was convinced she was growing mould. Sully had just given her a flat look. Well, he might not mind, Chloe thought, but I definitely do.

What were people going to think?

Elena just refused to smell. Being sick every day was taking its toll on her and now it had gotten so bad that she just couldn't smell things anymore. She longed for home comforts and skin cleanser and body cream and shampoo. She rubbed a hand across a face that hadn't seen moisturiser in way too long. At least they were out of the forest.

Chloe just wanted some mould killer.

Tired enough to sleep through ten days, Nate trudged along, grateful to actually to see the sun for once. He embraced the heat and hoped it would dry him off. Catching sight of a lone boy at the top of a hill, he asked the pilot to see if he knew where the closest phone was.

The pilot jogged away.

…

The goat herder gave a start when he saw the strangers walking towards him, and then his nose twitched. He had never smelt anything that bad, not even after one of his goats had eaten bad fruit and had the runs. It was worse than that.

And one of them, he thought it looked like a woman, a very dishevelled one at that, supported by what looked to be two branches, she looked like she was growing something on her. It looked like mould.

Well, this was certainly making his day more interesting.

One of the members pulled away and approached him. After greeting him in the traditional way, the goat herder asked the pilot what was going on.

'Well, my friends and I have just left the forest after our plane landed there. We need to get to a phone, do you know where we can find one?'

The boy nodded and reached into his tatty short's pocket. He drew out a cell phone and handed it to the pilot.

By now, the others had caught up and were staring at the device in the pilot's hands.

'That was a stroke of luck,' Sully commented.

'Just tell me you know someone who can take us to Egypt already,' Chloe said tiredly.

After a moment's thought the pilot clicked his fingers and typed a number quickly.

'Who do you think he's calling?' Sully whispered to Nate.

Overhearing, Chloe scowled, 'A tenner says it's his own mother.'

Elena smiled and ten minutes after the call ended the pilot pointed to a white speck in the distance.

It slowly grew until the group were able to make out an ice-cream truck hurtling towards them at an astonishing speed.

Mouths dropped in surprise.

Elena suddenly had the urge to run down to the truck and eat all the desserts she could find.

The pilot grinned at them.

Transport had arrived.

* * *

**Ok, not much happened here, but I just needed to get the group out of the forest…**

**It was a shorter chapter too but the next one will probably be chunky…like the Kit Kat**

**Now things will get a move on…**

**Hopefully this 'update a chapter' thing will happen on Thursdays…because I like Thursdays…although I like Fridays and Saturdays the best…in general…**

**I love mangoes…they are just too good…but I don't like the stringy ones that get stuck in your teeth…not nice…**

**Thank you so much to everyone who reviews and even if you don't, thanks for reading anyways…**

**Tis a nice feeling to know people read this thing…**


	16. Downwind

**Ok**

**So, in the last chapter, the group finally left the forest and answered some questions…**

**Good stuff, now to find out about what is going on with everyone else…**

**Last week was a one off…I really will try and update this every week**

* * *

Chapter 15

Around the time the heroes were tramping through a wet forest, Phil's right hand man was preparing for his daily shave.

Ted peeled the bandage from his face, wincing as he did so.

It looked pretty bad. The blast created to subdue the spartoi had destroyed the whole camp. In an effort to get this done so quickly, not everyone had the chance to make it to safety, Ted included.

A quick glance in the small camp mirror revealed the extent of the damage.

Raw burns creeped down one side of his face, thicker near his forehead and thinning out just before it reached his jaw. The wounds were still moist and blistering. It looked like he wasn't going to be shaving for a long time.

It wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't gone back to save Phil. One side of him really wanted to let him burn but Ted just couldn't do it. He needed the money for his niece's surgery and so risking his life in the process, Ted had done the right thing and paid dearly for it.

Phil didn't even have a scratch, although, it was kind of funny when his pants caught fire.

His comm. unit squawked to life beside the rest of the things he had managed to salvage from the fire. Namely, a watch, a few jumpsuits and a bottle of scotch. A man was set if he had something to tell the time, wear and drink to make him forget why he had nothing else.

Time to report to Phil, Ted thought bitterly. The pain was dizzying but he persevered and tied clean bandages before heading out.

This newer, slightly more haphazard, camp was comprised of two large tents, one to live in and one to work in. It was all they had been able to save.

Ted dodged the other soldiers as they carried materials and stretchers. He didn't have to try hard though, they usually gave him a wide berth when they saw him. He had a feeling it had something to do with the face; they could only see his eyes and a tiny bit of hair under the bandages. It was the best he could do and the others would have to live with it.

Phil was waiting at the end of bustling, working tent. He signalled to him as Ted approached.

'So, any news on the escapees?' he asked, the nasal tone really getting under Ted's skin.

'The chief of the police is still searching the hills where they saw the plane go down, but they haven't seen anything yet. I don't think they even crashed,' Ted explained and Phil scowled.

'Do you have any idea where they could've gone?'

Ted shook his head, he wanted to believe that they had gotten far away enough to be safe, but he got the feeling that things wouldn't be that easy.

Phil grunted and passed a hand over his face. The whole ring-up-the-commander-of-the-Ugandan-Police-in-the-middle-of-night-plan should've worked. Now he was stuck. The Nile was way too long to search as a whole. He just needed to narrow down the location.

'Get the satellite link ready and call somebody from the border control. I want to know if anyone leaves this country who looks like our captives,' Phil ordered. A man scurried away to do his bidding. He turned back to Ted.

'You know how these people think. What do you think they're up to?'

Ted squirmed for a moment, wondering what he should say. He didn't want to give Phil any help and at the same time, he didn't want to arouse any suspicions. Phil was getting touchy already and Ted didn't want him making any rash decisions. Ones that would end up with him labelled traitor and then shot in the head.

'Uh, I guess if they were catching a plane, they obviously know where to go next. They don't seem like the type to just run away. Maybe a clue they didn't tell us about or something,' he suggested and Phil nodded.

'Yes, that sounds right. The RPG fire must've come from their allies. You didn't happen to see any of them did you?'

'No,' Ted lied, having been run over in a car by said allies, 'I was too busy setting up the explosives.'

Phil accepted this, as if he wasn't expecting much anyway and signalled to another man who brought out a box.

Ted looked at it curiously, 'What's in there?'

Phil grinned evilly at him, 'Before everything went crazy, I took one of the scrolls that Drake had found and made rubbing of the outside and a copy of the map, so I could look at them myself. I also made a rubbing of the map inside that was on the box of teeth. It pays to think ahead.'

Ted had a bad feeling about this and watched with growing apprehension as Phil examined the pieces of paper in front of him.

'Hmm, on the rubbing from the outside of the scroll there seems to be an engraving, some sort of hieroglyph, well, it looks like Mr Drake forgot to mention that,' Phil mused before showing Ted the tiny etching.

'What do you think it means?' Ted asked and Phil switched on his laptop.

'How am I meant to know? But I will find out and when I do, I'm going to chase them down like…like…hmm, Ted…what chases things really well?' Phil thought for a moment and Ted sighed.

'I don't know, a cheetah?' Ted sighed wearily. It really had been a long day.

'Yes, like a cheetah chases a…wait what do cheetahs chase? Is it the antelope or gazelle?'

'Umm, gazelles?'

'Hah, yes, that sounds right, I'm going to chase down those fools down like a cheetah does a gazelle,' Phil said, satisfied that he had managed to make a sentence.

Ted folded his arms, if Phil was really this silly then maybe his friends had a chance.

Just maybe.

…

The ice cream truck bounced along as the group sped across the barren land.

The pilot and the driver, who turned out to be an associate of the pilot, sat in the truck's cab while the rest sat in the back, among random ice cream paraphernalia, including lots of pictures of ice cream but none of the actual foodstuff.

Elena upon finding out that there was actually no ice cream nearly fainted then and there. She had really wanted some. Even if it was just ice, maybe she could fool herself into thinking it was ice cream. It wasn't even as if she could forget about the idea of frozen dessert because Chloe and Sully were playing guess the ice cream/ice lolly. The object of the game was to correctly name the ice cream that the other person was describing.

This game really bothered Elena. The descriptions were just too good. They were mouth-watering. Not to mention the six foot plastic ice cream cone that was stuck to roof of the van, as far as car ornaments go it was pretty tacky, but to Elena it looked like the food of the gods. The only problem was the fact it was plastic. Elena's mood was pretty low.

Nate was asleep. He had been for some time now. Elena looked over to him, poor guy, she thought, he really was tired. She supposed it had come from all the worrying he had done recently. Well, it wasn't going to get any better. They still had to get through Sudan without being killed and then through most of Egypt to get to the Nile.

As if thinking about him was a tangible slap on the face, Nate suddenly jerked awake.

'Where are we?' he mumbled sleepily looking around. He didn't remember much. Only dropping down on a padded chair and worrying about sitting next to Chloe because he didn't want the mould to spread and start growing on him.

'Right now, I'm not sure, but we're heading towards the Sudanese border,' Elena said. The pilot turned to look at them.

'We'll be stopping in an hour or so and then taking another car to cross the border,' he said.

'How long was I sleeping?' Nate wondered, it wasn't exactly a short drive to border.

Chloe flicked her eyes to the clock on the dashboard, 'About four hours.'

Nate sat back, surprised that he had managed to sleep for that long. There was so much on his mind at the moment that he hadn't been finding it easy to sleep at all. Especially in the din of the rainforest.

'Why the change?' Sully asked, he was quite comfortable already.

'I'm guessing you don't want to take the official route to Sudan. You're going to need something that can handle the terrain. An ice cream truck doesn't quite cut it,' the driver said.

'Yeah, about that…why do you have an ice cream truck? It's not like you sell anything out of it,' Sully said.

'It was cheap and I needed a car. Sometimes, you just make do. It's actually come in handy, this thing can carry a lot of people y'know,' the man explained.

Chloe was about to say something when something in the corner of the van moved, behind a stack of empty boxes.

'What was that?' she asked quickly. Elena looked over.

'I don't know. Wasn't it just the movement of the van?' she replied. Chloe shook her head.

'No, it couldn't have been, we've been going smoothly for quite a while and the boxes were pretty secure.'

Sully frowned in concentration, 'Maybe it was a rat.'

'Eugh,' Chloe, who didn't have the greatest fondness for the creatures, muttered, 'I hope not.'

Elena felt the temperature in the van rise. No way was she going to be stuck in a van with a rat. It was just not sanitary. Elena didn't even know when she had last had a wash, but that wasn't the point, she had just spent the whole journey with a rat. It wasn't right. What if it touched her? Or defecated on her shoes? Elena didn't use that word often but she thought it was the right moment. She shuffled her feet around.

Voicing her opinions hurriedly, Nate looked at her. 'I thought you didn't mind rats and besides we would have smelled the poop by now.'

'Well, I do now,' Elena said, the hysteria rising as another stack of boxes tipped, spreading onto Chloe and Sully.

Sully batted a box away, 'Well, looky here, it isn't a rat at all.'

The rest of the group leant over and a small African boy stared back solemnly.

Sully turned to the driver, 'Uh, there's a kid back here.'

Elena called to him but the boy stayed where he was, staring at everyone, silent.

'Yeah I know, he came with the car and he won't leave or speak so I just left him there,' the driver explained. Chloe raised an eyebrow.

'He _came_ with the car? How does that work?'

'Well, the guy I who was selling the van said that a boy was in the back and that he wouldn't come out and then I was like, ok, and then I bought the car,' the driver said.

'That was a really simple explanation,' Chloe said after a while, she had started off thinking that this man was in no way as crazy as the pilot and could be in fact normal, but she wasn't so sure anymore, 'Doesn't he have parents?'

The driver shrugged, 'I don't think so, but he's not that much trouble so I let him stay.'

If only things were so simple everywhere, Chloe thought to herself and looked at the kid with little interest. She wasn't really a children person, that was more Elena's thing and she settled back in her chair, preparing to get one last snooze before they crossed the border.

Nate tried to get the kid to smile but to no avail and he shrank further back into the boxes as if he were scared.

Sully looked at the boy who matched the stare with an expressionless face. He wanted to say that he looked a little creepy but didn't and instead took a pack of cards out of his pocket and shuffled them expertly, grinning when he noticed the child's eyes flash with amazement, as the cards flicked and slotted together.

Nate tried to look nonchalant but was paying rapt attention. Jeeze, he thought, even Sully can entertain a kid.

In a predictable chain of thought Nate ended up wandering what sort of father he would make. It wasn't something he had time to think about much. He wanted to be a good dad, as he supposed any person would, but the responsibility was huge. What if it fell on its head or drank bleach or something? Kids did that sort of thing all the time. A new idea lodged in his head. What if they had more than one kid? What then? It was turning into his worst nightmare quickly. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't quite push the image of him trying to knock down a wave of mini Nates like something akin to whack-a-mole.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to think of something else, oh yes, what about his adventures? He couldn't exactly have a kid tagging along on all of his death defying journeys. He had seen 'The Mummy Returns', the boy in that film caused well loads of trouble.

Was he going to have to give up everything? Become a full time dad? Talk to other dads about last week's game or the wife's nagging while they watched their kids play in the neighbourhood park or while coaching Little League. Nate shivered. None of those activities required the use of a gun, Nate quite liked guns. You knew where you were with one of those in your hands and a bad guy in front of you.

Nate was so deep in his thinking that before long, the car came to a stop outside a small building. It looked to be a rest stop, a very old one at that.

'If you need the toilet, you can go here, I just need to see when your next ride is coming,' the driver explained and got out of the car.

Nate was hardly surprised when Sully stood to leave, but when Elena and Chloe also got and left, he felt his stomach sink.

He didn't need to use the facilities and the pilot had left with the driver. That meant he was alone with the little boy.

Maybe he should just stretch his legs and follow Sully. No, Nate told himself, he could handle spending time with a kid, even if it was this silent, staring child.

Just forget that he's there, Nate repeated in his head.

In the silence of the nearly empty van, he took out his backpack and found a chocolate bar in one of the pockets.

Nate was just about to take the first bite when he felt a set of eyes watching him. He turned.

The small human looked at him with that unwavering stare. Nate froze.

Crap, was he meant to feed the kid too?

It seemed kind of evil to just stuff his face while the kid just watched. Nate hastily gave the bar to the boy and rummaged in his bag for another one because he was hungry.

Except he didn't have another one, now he would have to watch the kid stuff his face.

So he was slightly surprised when the boy held out half the bar which he had split himself, already nibbling his part.

'Wow,' was the only coherent thought going through Nate mind and he took piece from the boy's outstretched hand.

They ate in companionable silence. It seemed that the boy approved of Nate now because he had come forward slightly, leaving the shelter of boxes behind him. Nate didn't think this was so bad after all and then noted down that he would have to teach his kid to share. He frowned at this, there were going to be lots of things like this he would have to teach his child. Just something else to worry about.

A knock at the door announced Sully's arrival, he plopped himself in the seat opposite Nate and winked at him.

'What was that for?'

'I saw this happy little scene and I just assumed it went well,' Sully said.

'What went well?' Nate asked, nonplussed. Sully sighed as if he were talking to a very slow person.

'Y'know, the father practise thing,' he said and Nate just looked at him.

'Huh?'

'Oh for Pete's sake, stop acting dense, I left you here alone so you could be with the boy,' Sully explained.

'That just sounds wrong,' Nate replied.

'I was looking out for you so you could get some practise in on how to be a father, or just act around kids,' Sully said as if wanting to be praised for his noble efforts.

'You were gone like ten minutes, that's not much time,' Nate spluttered, wondering what sort of bonding he was meant to get done in that time.

'Hey, it worked,' Sully said with his palms up, 'he isn't hiding from you anymore.'

Nate was quiet for a moment, that was true.

Raised voices outside signalled the return of the others.

Poking his head out of the van doors, Nate could see the pilot's friend arguing with another man. Curious, he joined Elena.

'What's up?' he asked.

Elena sighed, 'It looks like the guy who was getting us a car, ran out of cars so gave us the next best thing.'

Not for the first time that day, Nate got a dodgy feeling in his gut, 'And that is…?'

Chloe, overhearing, shook her thumb behind her, 'That thing.'

Nate turned to see a large, slightly homemade, hovercraft squeezed under the canopy of the petrol station. His jaw dropped. Sully whistled.

'Well, don't this look fun?'

'I thought we were trying to be inconspicuous,' Nate muttered and Elena nodded.

'Yeah, that's why John is arguing with the guy,' she explained, 'he's trying to get us something else.'

The little kid inside of Nate was like, 'Boy do I wanna drive that thing,' the other part, which was concerned with keeping Nate in one bodily piece, wondered why they could never get hold of normal transportation.

'His name is John?' Sully said out loud, pleasantly surprised that they had met someone with a normal name for once. Come to think of it, did he even know the pilot's name?

Before he could ask, John and the pilot turned to them, 'I'm really sorry, but this is all we can get unless you want to wait another day.'

Nate took the lead and speaking for the group said, 'It's fine, we don't want to wait any longer, I don't know how close Phil is to finding out where we are so we'll just take out chances and use this thing.'

The pilot beamed, 'Have fun guys, there's a sat-nav which is programmed to take you to the easiest crossing point.'

'You're not coming with us?' Chloe asked innocently. Sully smirked in the background.

The pilot looked a little downcast, 'No, sorry, I can't come, it's safer if I stay here.'

Chloe couldn't agree more but put a sad face on. One less nutty person was fine with her.

Nate and Sully shook the pilot's hand before climbing into the contraption before them.

Elena spared some time for a quick hug and joined Nate in the passenger seat, which looked suspiciously as if it had been taken from a plastic garden furniture set.

Chloe and the pilot stood, the only ones left to say their goodbyes.

Now that she thought about it properly, Chloe realised that things were going to be a lot quieter without this man and while that seemed attractive, the distraction he brought was welcome considering what they were up against.

The pilot gave her a look of the soppiest puppy dog eyes and Chloe groaned inwardly. She supposed she could miss him a little.

They did have some memories together, namely conspiring to throw a rock at her friends but still fond memory nonetheless.

'Well, bye, then,' Chloe said gruffly after a while.

The pilot's grin spread, as did his arms for a hug that Chloe awkwardly followed through with.

'We had fun, no?' he said.

Chloe grinned weakly, 'I wouldn't call it that but y'know, you should really go see a doctor. There is something wrong with you. Normal men can't persuade monkeys to give them mangoes.'

The pilot stepped back, thoughtful, 'People tell me that all the time but I've gotten this far so I can't be sick.'

Chloe felt an eyebrow raise, with that kind of logic, she supposed not and with that she stepped up into the vehicle and watched bemused as the pilot merrily waved back.

…

Ever since Doris spilled hot tea over herself after going for a walk in the camp and catching someone relieving themselves behind a not so concealed bush, a third smaller, more _downwind_, tent had been put up a little distance away and this was where Ted found himself as evening drew in.

As he found a spot and unzipped his pants, Ted noticed that there was an unusual lack of people here. He didn't mind, he always thought it was kind of weird to be doing that sort of business with other people around.

His head ached and the burns well…burned. He had changed from all out head bandaging and had found some large pieces of white gauze which he had taped to the burns, it made him look slightly more human but unfortunately it didn't stop the pain, not even the whisky was doing its job. He really wanted a hug.

Out of nowhere, Phil joined him. Thoughts of hugs dissappeared entirely.

The men stood in silence, or semi silence as tinkling sounds filled the tent. As Ted was so preoccupied with feeling awkward he didn't notice Phil sidle closer and it wasn't till he was a foot away did Ted suddenly realise.

'Um, what are you doing?' he asked.

Phil shrugged nonchalantly, 'I thought this would be a good time to, y'know, have a chat.'

Ted stared at the canvas wall of the tent. He couldn't disagree more.

'Anyways, I just wanted to go over a few things,' Phil continued and Ted was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. Wasn't there a proper place for this sort of thing? What sort of guy did all his serious talk in the toilet tent?

'Ok,' he managed to reply and Phil smiled briefly, showing a little teeth.

'So, the contract you signed stipulated that I would pay for your niece's operation, no matter what the cost, after I had recovered both jaws and teeth and they were securely in my possession.'

'Yes…,' Ted confirmed, wondering where this was going.

'And if I were to fail, you wouldn't get a penny, not one cent, am I right in saying that?'

Ted, nodded, a nasty feeling growing inside of him but let Phil spell it out, just to prolong it a little. The rise in tension was almost tangible.

'So why would you, unless you were the cruellest uncle ever, help in the failure of my mission? Answer me that, Ted,' Phil said, smug smile evident on his face.

Ted closed his eyes, it was gonna happen sometime, he was really terrible at being the villain.

Crap.

'I don't know what you're talking about,' Ted forced himself to say but it wasn't very convincing. If Phil was accusing him it was because he had hardcore evidence of his betrayal.

'Ah, I think you do,' Phil waved a finger at him and took out a mobile phone. Ted could see that this was getting worse and worse and Phil simply had no concept of hygiene. Who uses a mobile while they were busy doing a pee?

A video played in rather high quality and Ted cursed the people who put eight million mega pixels in mobile phones. It showed him taking the jaw bone, teeth, GPS and car keys and stowing them away in a rucksack. The file ended and Phil keyed in a few buttons and another video played. This time Ted entered the prisoners' tent with the rucksack and then left without it, only making the whole thing more suspicious looking.

Ted was in deep doo doo.

He hadn't really thought about where he wanted to die but the communal relief tent definitely wasn't one of the desired places, but against what Phil really wanted to do, he patted Ted on the back.

Ted wondered when the guy would wash his hands but since he was going to die now, he supposed it didn't matter.

'You gonna kill me now or wait till I'm finished here?' Ted asked stolidly, determined to act composed in his last minutes.

'Despite my position on this, I've decided to keep you around for a little longer,' Phil explained, as if he were the most benevolent god to exist. Ted wasn't sure if he should be relieved or not.

'Why would you do that?' he asked, suspicious.

'Well, the men really like you and I'm afraid they'll start to question themselves if it turns out you're a traitor and I'd killed you. I don't need a mutiny. Also I want to make you suffer,' Phil said conversationally, his tone so light that they could've been talking about the weather instead of a man's life.

It couldn't get any worse, Ted thought and wondered why he still hadn't finished peeing. What had he drunk earlier? Wait, this wasn't the time for that, he needed to think clearly.

Before Ted could ask anything more, Phil ploughed on with his explanation, 'Now, the terms have changed, you kill one of those escapees and I'll pay for the surgery, whether the mission fails or not.'

The tinkling stopped.

Ted gulped. This was not good. If there was anything to stop a man going to the loo, it was telling him he had to kill one of his friends to save a relative.

'I think it's quite a fair deal, considering,' Phil zipped up his pants and shrugged, 'up to you really. Either way it's probably gonna hurt you more because you'll have to live with it and they'll be dead. Shame. I've found out some interesting info, though, on that hieroglyph thingy, looks like we're going to Egypt next.'

There was a beat of silence.

'If I disagree?'

Phil laughed, it was a cruel one with extra sneer in it, 'You don't want to do that…it's not really the option in which you stay alive.'

Ted had thought as much.

Nate, Elena, Sully and Chloe…he couldn't kill one of them. No way, but he couldn't just let his niece die.

Phil could see this dilemma playing across what remained visible of Ted's face and enjoyed every second. He dragged it out for a few moments longer then spoke.

'So you'll do it?'

Ted looked at him in desperation. This wasn't how it was meant to go.

'Yes…yes I'll do it.'

Phil grinned.

Ted stood there, still not sure if he had just lied or not.

…

Once settled and on their way, Sully turned to Chloe and wiped a fake tear away.

'That was so touching,' he said over the noise of the industrial sized fan blowing them along the desert.

Chloe scowled at him and turned away.

In the front Elena felt, amazingly, content. A feeling she hadn't had the luxury of experiencing in a long time. It probably had something to do with them actually doing something important. They were on their way. The journeys were getting done. Soon they would be in Sudan and then onto Egypt.

The thrill of adventure was upon her and Elena realised why Nate yearned for this life so much. It was just simply so exciting; once you've felt that rush, the sense of accomplishment, it was hard to turn back.

Even to a certain extent, she had fallen under the spell of adventuring, she had always gone for the most dangerous reports, regardless of her safety. But at the same time Elena supposed it was bittersweet as she let her thoughts fall on Jeff. That was so long ago, but the shock was still there, numbing and raw.

Indeed, even now, people were hurt or about to be. Chloe, with her gunshot wound, herself, with her state of pregnancy, Ted's four year old niece and her operation. People's lives were in the balance and thinking about this, Elena came to understand why she was happy to stay at home. It hurt to think that people, her friends, could be in danger. Sometimes just a little too much.

Nate caught sight of Elena's face, tinged with sadness and with one hand on the controls, he took her hand in his. He didn't know what was troubling her, sometimes he thought he never would but at least he could be there for her. Right now, it was all he could do.

He hoped this would all be over soon, because, at this moment in time, he couldn't think of anything better to do than just curl up with Elena on their ratty old couch in their small apartment with the crappy toilet.

He knew it sounded wussy.

But right now, he just didn't care.

* * *

**This was a long chapter…**

**Ok, moving swiftly on…the pilot is finally gone…so more serious now…I think…I don't know…but they will have got to Sudan…it's taken them ages just to leave the country they were in…**

**The Mummy films were well good but the latest one was pants…that's what I think**

**I've been on a hovercraft…but it was a long time ago…when I went to Florida in...'97 I think…they took us to a swamp…that's all I really remember…but it was fun…**

**I think it was a bit out of order that Jeff died…poor Jeff…**

**If Phil asked me what Cheetah's chased I would have said either…I didn't know what they ate specifically…but now I know it's the Thompson's Gazelle that they eat…I had to look it up…**

**Phil looks a lot like Bob from the Tekken 6 game if you've ever seen him…just not as fat…nor strong…nor good…**


	17. Grilled Cheese On Fire

**Yop!**

**I have been painting the kitchen so it took time for me to write this…painting is really hard work…on top of that I have no idea how the roller thing works…the wall looks really blotchy…oh well…that's what my parents get when they ask me to paint the wall**

**On top of the random painting I got a cold so I didn't feel like writing much…but I thought about what would happen in the story…so that's something**

**Ok, in the last chapter, Nate and the gang were crossing the border and Ted's betrayal was uncovered in the toilets…boy did that sound weird…**

* * *

Chapter 16

Ted stepped out of the plane and into the bright Egyptian morning with a heavy heart, still undecided in his dilemma of whether to kill one of his friends or die himself.

Just thinking about it was depressing.

Behind him in the cargo hold, there was a barely contained bellow. Of course, they had taken their captured spartoi with them. Who wouldn't? A mechanic looked around uneasily but moved on with a shake of his head.

The airport was small and private, the workers bribed not to take any notice of the customers, whatever they may be transporting.

Ted set off towards the airport building to liaise with the rest of his team.

Phil had found out that the etching on the golden scroll casing was the badge of a group of tomb robbers from way back and that somewhere in the historical ruins they would find their hideout and hopefully the next set of dragon jawbone complete with teeth.

It would help if he knew exactly what they were looking for. Ted mentally sighed, there were are lot of ancient ruins and temples here and it was already blazing hot. Since it wasn't even noon yet Ted braced himself for another gruelling day of hard work and numerous dead ends.

At least his wounds were starting to heal, they had stopped secreting fluid, which could only mean a good thing, he supposed.

As he entered the cool of the air conditioned building, Ted wondered what his friends were up to and where they were.

He hoped they had already gotten here and taken the jawbone far away or better yet, destroyed it but somehow he didn't think it would be this easy.

…

'Are we there yet?'

Elena let the irritation on her face show, 'No,' she snapped, finding it harder and harder to control her temper nowadays.

Sully grumbled in the back seat of the jeep they had acquired after ditching the hovercraft as soon as possible. They had made it across the border without being noticed, which was a feat in itself since the infernal machine had started to break apart on some of the rougher terrain. It was one thing to lose a seat but when the control panel blew off, you knew you were in trouble.

Elena guessed they had been lucky that they had found an abandoned car not far from where they left the broken hovercraft.

So now they were in Sudan, speeding through the desert towards Egypt and there hadn't been any bust ups, gunfights, strange noises in the nights, not even a split tyre. The journey was getting to Chloe, who was starting to feel a little bored. There was only so much desert that you could be amazed by, now it all looked the same.

Nate snoozed in the passenger seat, he was meant to be helping with directions but there weren't really any to give, Nate hadn't been even sure this was a road but it was going north and that was where they wanted to go.

'I could do with a little music,' Chloe complained from the backseat and Elena fiddled with the radio only to get static. Chloe groaned.

'Great, we finally get something with a working radio and there isn't anything on. Bloody typical.'

It didn't help that it was hot. Heat they could stand, but this constant dryness was beginning to take its toll and Elena wondered how much water they had left.

Sully thought in vain of something to talk about and then suddenly remembered Elena telling them about Nate's visit to her parents. He had completely forgotten about it, they hadn't even finished it off. If he remembered correctly, Nate had just been stung by a bee. Since there wasn't much else to do, Sully asked Elena about it.

'Oh, well, not much happened after that, y'know, we sat down and had dinner,' Elena said, in an offhand way. Sully got the feeling that she wasn't saying everything.

'You wanna expand on that?' he said.

'Not really,' Elena muttered, the first part of that evening had gone fine, but she tried to forget the rest of it. What mattered was that her parents didn't mind, her mom especially found it quite exciting. Who needed a kitchen anyways? Those things were overrated at best.

Chloe picked up on Elena's reluctance and probed further, 'I bet dinner didn't go as planned…right…something happened…wait, knowing Nate…something blew up, right? The car?'

Chloe read Elena's expression through the reflection on the rear view mirror and caught the slight change in expression when she mentioned 'blew up'.

'No, nothing like that,' Elena replied quickly.

'Oh no, let me guess. Nate somehow set something on fire? Probably the living room right?' Chloe was having fun now, trying to imagine the ways in which you could set your girlfriend's parents' house on fire.

Elena let out a defeated sigh, 'Fine, the kitchen burned down, but it wasn't Nate's fault,' she explained, trying to defend him.

'Uh huh,' Sully commented, not believing her.

Nate had ways of attracting trouble.

Elena loved that part a little less than the rest of him.

…

_It was bad. Very bad._

_Half his face had swollen up complete with blotchy red patches. The actually puncture site was sore and weeping clear liquid. Elena frowned at it but said nothing. The swollen section was drooping slightly and Nate felt his head tilt with it._

'_I look like a Quasimodo!' Nate managed to utter and Elena gave him a half smile._

'_I don't mind,' she replied. _

'_I do!' Nate said in a panicky sort of way. Was he going to look like this forever? People were going to stare at him and little kids would point and their mothers would usher them away quickly…._

'_It'll go away with some Piriton,' she said. Nate gave her a crazed look._

'_Piriton? I'm gonna need more than Piriton! Look at my face!' he was rather worried with Elena's lack of concern. _

'_Why didn't you tell me I was allergic to bees,' he grumbled, wincing as she prodded a swollen lip._

'_Like I was going to know that,' Elena laughed, patting the normal side of his face and took him back to the living room._

_As they entered, they were greeted by a camera flash. Nate blinked._

'_This will be a good one for the album,' Linda said proudly, showing James the picture on the camera's screen, he cleared his throat and handed Nate some tablets with a glass of water._

'_Take these, the swelling should go down by tomorrow,' he said, 'you were lucky it didn't get your throat.'_

_Nate thanked him and hoped he didn't sound weird with his face distorted._

_Having put the camera away, Linda smiled brightly, 'Right, why don't we have dinner?'_

_Mr and Mrs Fisher left the room and Elena was about to follow when Nate held her back. _

'_What's the matter?'_

_Nate looked at her through one eye because the other one was covered by a swollen eyelid, 'This is not turning out how it's supposed to.'_

_Elena gave him a flat look, 'I don't know what you were expecting but I thought _something_ would happen. This is you we're talking about. You attract trouble like…honey attracts bees.'_

_Nate was going to try the puppy dog eyes but wasn't sure if it would have to same affect now that his face was so…unnatural…instead he put his hands on her shoulders, closing the gap between them. 'Gunfire I can handle, this, I cannot. Can we please go home?'_

_Elena shook her head and tried to reason with him but Nate grunted, 'I think they'll excuse me…my face has just been attacked. Maybe we could do this some other time….'_

_Elena could see where this was headed, 'Look, I know that if we leave, we're never gonna come back…I barely persuaded you to come this time and even then I promised you some pretty strange things. So just suck it up, walk into that dining room, eat my mom's lasagne and tell her it's the best you ever tasted and we can leave.'_

_Nate was quiet for a moment and realised that he could probably ask for anything he wanted and Elena would probably just say fine without really thinking about it. She was in that kind of mood._

_A smile slowly spread across his face._

_Elena backed away because the smile looked all wrong on Nate's bulbous face._

_Before Nate could make any lewd suggestions, there was a scream from the kitchen. Elena turned quickly and ran to the source of the sound, Nate followed not far behind._

_The two burst through the door to find Linda sitting down on a chair by the dining table, shaking, and a grim looking James peering out through the window where the garden was darkening in the fading evening light._

_The kitchen was lit brightly and Nate could smell a whiff of paint as if the room had just been recently painted, as if to tell him he was thinking correctly, he spotted some brushes and paint pots sitting on the edge of the counter._

_The garden doors were open._

'_What happened?' Elena asked, full of worry for her mother. _

'_Mr Potter…Mr Potter …,' Linda repeated in a hoarse whisper. _

_Nate somehow remembered that this was the name of the deer that Elena's parents kept in the garden._

'_What happened to Mr Potter?' Elena tried to encourage the other woman to look at her. She finally did but her gaze was far off and glazed but the rage was unmistakeable._

'_He took the lasagne dish.'_

...

Sully made a face, 'How did you get to a burning kitchen from there?'

Elena twiddled the wheel to avoid yet another pothole, 'Wait, you haven't let me finish yet. It get worse. Much worse.'

Chloe tried to form a mental picture of a deer trying to steal a lasagne dish. Did deer even like that stuff?

…

_Elena let out a relieved sigh, ' I thought it was something important. It doesn't matter, we have other food in the house.'_

'_The deer took the lasagne?' Nate said out loud trying to get his head round it. It just didn't seem plausible._

'_The bastard,' Linda said under her breath, voice laced with venom._

_Nate had never heard a mom say that about a deer before._

_Elena put a hand on her mother's back, 'Hey, we don't say that kind of stuff when we have guests.'_

_James poured a large glass of brandy, handed it to his wife and looked at his daughter's boyfriend, feeling utterly sorry for him, 'Sorry about this, but at least it can't get any worse than this.'_

_He would regret saying this._

'_Nate, I think there's some bread and stuff, why don't you make some grilled cheese sandwiches while my mom calms down?' Elena suggested lightly, as if trying to save him from the worst of her mother's mood._

_Luckily, Nate was the go to guy when it came to grilled cheese and as soon as the other three had left, he went about his cooking._

_Trying to ignore the pain that was currently all over his face, he hunted up some ingredients and turned the gas stove on._

_It was all going rather well when suddenly, he heard a noise and turned around._

_Four men were standing in the kitchen wearing identical outfits of black jumpsuits and balaclavas. It looked like they had just come through the garden doors. Nate could see what looked to be tomato sauce on one of the intruder's shoe._

'_Crap, I think I stepped in some lasagne. Who the heck keeps their lasagne dish outside?' the man said, scraping his shoes on the kitchen tiles and another one hit him. This man was taller than the rest and it seemed that he was the leader._

'_Shut up, we have bigger problems than that right now,' he said._

_The lasagne man realised that Nate was watching them all. _

'_Crap.'_

'_Stop saying that,' the guy nearest the table muttered._

'_If we stay really still, maybe he won't see us,' the last man suggested, who was standing very still._

_The leader slapped his forehead, which made a muffled sound against his woollen balaclava, 'He's not a bloomin' T-rex. I think it's time to get this over with, I'll knock him out and you guys rob the house.'_

'_Be careful, boss, this guy looks like he's got a bad disease.'_

_The taller man advanced menacingly towards Nate, who still hadn't said a word. It was at this point that the sandwich he was currently cooking slid out of the pan, which he had been holding at an angle, and fell into the gas flames below. _

_It instantly caught fire._

_Nate was still watching the intruders, wondering why on Earth they would walk into someone's kitchen unannounced like this._

_The guy closest to the table coughed, 'Err…your sandwich is on fire.'_

_Somehow, this registered in Nate's confused and pained mind. He turned and tried to save it using a spatula but unfortunately the spatula had been accidently placed in a puddle of brandy that Linda had made before James insisted that she sit down and he pour it himself and as soon as it hit the flames of the gas cooker, went up in flames._

_A natural reaction to when you suddenly find yourself holding fire, Nate let go and the spatula fell onto the floor._

_The four robbers stared._

'_I'm pretty sure that doesn't usually happen to spatulas,' lasagne man said._

_In his effort to save the burning sandwich, Nate had unintentionally flipped it near a roll of kitchen tissues which also set fire. This in turn caught the attentions of the large spillage of alcohol, the flames spread quickly over this part and led towards the painting equipment, which were innocently sitting at the other end of the work bench._

_Not once did the five pairs of eyes leave the flames as they raced towards the white spirit which was already starting to look a little sweaty in its plastic bottle._

_There was an intake of breath as the fire melted the plastic and with a soft whooshing sound the spirit caught ablaze in a blinding white gout of flame. Spirit and paintbrush cleaner splattered across the kitchen surfaces and were alight within seconds._

_Nate got the feeling that there were just too many flammable things in this kitchen._

'_Wow,' the man who had been standing very still said. He still hadn't moved even though he was standing the closest to the painting equipment. _

'_Crap.'_

'_Stop saying that!'_

'_Hey, it wasn't me, it was Jamie Oliver over there,' lasagne man shrugged, pointing at Nate who was trying to put the spatula out by stamping on it._

_The man by the table stepped forward, 'Look, you're doing it all wrong, let me do it.'_

_Nate stood aside while the helpful robber put out the burning spatula. _

_By now the room was filling with thick, billowing clouds of smoke._

_The fire alarm went off. _

_Elena came through the door like a bullet and widened her eyes as she took in the strange scene before her , 'Nate! What the heck is going on? Who are these people?'_

_Nate in an effort to regain some dignity blamed it on the robbers, 'I was just cooking the sandwiches and then these robbers turned up and they set the kitchen on fire,' he shouted over the growing noise of flames._

_The light bulbs shattered, showering the occupants with fine shards of glass._

_The robber, having put out the spatula and taking one look at the rest of the kitchen-now in flames-and giving up, looked indignant. _

'_Hey, I was helping you put out the fire. You're the one who started it with your crazy cooking skills.'_

_Elena shut the door behind her, not wanting to let her parents see any of this but it was kinda hard to hide a burning kitchen._

_Why couldn't she just have left Nate at home? Oh wait, that was the whole point of the visit. So her parents could meet the man of her dreams who was living up to his name famously. _

_It wasn't meant to be like this._

'_Look, I don't care who started the fire, just someone, put it out,' Elena commanded and they all set about trying to find a fire extinguisher, which was nowhere to be found. _

_In a moment of rare clarity the lasagne man stopped searching the bin and looked up._

'_Hey boss, why are we helping them? Shouldn't we be, uh, I don't know, pillaging or something?'_

_The boss closed a cabinet, his arms full of fine china and expensive silver ware. 'That's what I am doing you idiot! You're meant to be doing it too.' In a slightly quieter voice he mumbled, 'This is the last time I do a favour for a friend, yeesh.'_

_Elena who was blocked off by a wall of hot flames looked to Nate in desperation, 'That's my mom's best dinnerware, stop him!'_

_Linda and James decided to go back to the kitchen after Elena and Nate still hadn't joined them on the other side of the street. Well, Linda decided and James just tagged along to make sure she didn't get into trouble._

'_Mom, get out of here,' Elena yelled, fearing for the safety of her parents._

'_It's ok, we rang the fire brigade, maybe we can be saved by some hunky firemen,' Linda said and turned to the man with her crockery and gasped._

_On the other side of the flames, Nate ran at the boss and leapt, legs first. His aim true, he tackled the great man to the floor, with the tinkle of smashing china. The other robbers tried to help their leader and got ready for a fight in a suburban burning kitchen._

_Elena groaned and looked over to her mother, whom she thought would be livid. In fact, quite the opposite, Linda's face was a mixture of happiness and excitement._

'_Yeah, that's it Nate, kick him in the naughty parts…ooo, that looked like it hurt…watch out behind you! Take him out! Go for the right, go for the right! Hit him with wine bottle!'_

_James sighed._

_In true Nate fashion, Nate took down all four opponents with relative ease, even with a puffy face. Once he had turned to see Linda imitating punches and shouting encouragement while Elena and her dad just watched in bemused silence, it was at this point he got decked in the face by lasagne man-one more injury to add to today's visit to Elena's parents' house._

_What a strange family, he thought. _

_With all four robbers groaning on the floor a burly fireman crashed through the windows, even though there were the open garden doors. James made a point to talk to him about this then realised that the rest of kitchen was trashed so it didn't really matter._

_Once outside, in the safety of the street, Linda was praising Nate. 'You really are like Indiana Jones! I could just picture you with a fedora and bullwhip.'_

_Nate rubbed the back of his head, 'I'm sorry about the kitchen…you just redecorated it and everything…'_

_Linda was having none of it, 'Oh tosh, kitchens come and go but seeing a manly fight in a burning kitchen, that only comes around once in a blue moon. I feel privileged.'_

_Elena stood with her dad, watching the police herd the robbers into their squad cars. This was looking to be one of the strangest nights Elena had ever experienced and considering she hung out with Nate a lot the time, this was saying something. She turned to her father. _

'_So…what do you think?'_

_James put an arm around his daughter's shoulders and smiled, 'Your mother likes him and that's saying something and he did take out four intruders who were trying to steal from us.'_

_Elena looked up at her father's face, 'But what do you think?'_

'_Well, he seems ok and I know he cares about you. I don't know many people who would flying tackle a robber stealing their girlfriend's mother's prized silverware while also being stung in the face by a bee. I think that most guys would call it a day after the bee thing.'_

'_That's true,' Elena laughed, thinking that it hadn't all gone wrong._

'_Although, it seems to me like he's hiding something. I just can't see a guy like that doing research all day.'_

'_Ok, he has been on some adventure type things,' Elena conceded._

_James raised an eyebrow, 'So he _is_ Indiana Jones? And what does that make you…the girl he bags and then drops for the sequel?'_

_He was joking, she knew, but thumped him on the chest all the same, 'Hey, don't tease, I'll have you know, that I was the girl in the first movie and have been in all the sequels, thank you very much.'_

_She neglected to say that for some of the ensuing sequels their relationship status did change negatively as well as positively._

_James squeezed her shoulders, 'That sounds good to me, but I wouldn't tell your mother otherwise you'll never have Nate back.'_

_Elena smiled. _

_This was fine with her._

…

Sully and Chloe were silent.

'Did you just make that up?' Chloe asked after a minute. This was the least likely story she had ever heard.

'No, I swear it happened just like that,' Elena confirmed.

'Your mother sounds like quite the character,' Sully said and Elena laughed.

'Thank goodness because I don't think a normal mother would forgive someone for burning down her kitchen.'

'So what happened after that? You ever go back?' Chloe wanted to know.

'No we never went back, but because we didn't find the time instead of not actually wanting to go. A week later, though, my mom sent Nate a whip and a hat in the post. The look on his face was priceless, she made him take a photo a send it to her,' Elena said, with a smile as she remembered. Those were the good times.

Chloe sat back in her seat, rubbing her aching leg, she wondered what would happen if she turned up on her parent's doorstep with Ted. She frowned, come to think of it, she didn't even know where her parents were, she supposed that over time she had just grown distant to them. They had never been that close in the first place.

In other matters, at least silently, Chloe was past denying feelings about Ted, she was getting tired of it. Something was there, she just didn't know what it was yet but a part of her was determined to find out. The other part just wanted to kick him all the way to Timbuktu for making her feel this way. It was just too…girly.

The occupants of jeep lapsed into silence and after a while Nate woke.

'Are we there yet?' he mumbled sleepily. Elena didn't know why but knew that before Nate spoke she was in a perfectly good mood, now she was annoyed.

'No,' she replied shortly and Nate turned away guiltily but then squinted as he looked out of the windscreen.

'Wait, slow down, is that a person out there?'

'It could be, we are on Earth, where people tend to live,' Elena muttered sarcastically and Nate wondered what had crawled up her pants to make her so edgy.

'I mean, he looks like he's in trouble, he's lying on the floor and not moving, maybe we should stop and ask if he needs help,' Nate said, model citizen that he was.

Chloe frowned, 'If he's lying in on the floor then he could be dead, in which case, we don't need to ask him anything. We should just carry on.'

'You really are an uncaring person,' Sully commented, raising an eyebrow at her.

'I just think we shouldn't waste time,' Chloe defended herself but sighed as Elena drew up beside the body.

Dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and board shorts, Nate could make out a tuft of brown hair from the man laying down face first in the desert sand.

As he got out to poke the prone form, Chloe couldn't help but think that things were about to take a turn for the worse.

…

Ted let his legs buckle and he collapsed in the cool shade of the underground temple.

This was the one.

They had found it.

An enlarged hieroglyph matching the one on the golden scroll case dominated one wall in fading paint with wooden torches burning every few feet. Electric lamps had been set up for extra lighting but Ted didn't think it would help. Although they had found the right temple, they hadn't actually seen the jawbone and teeth.

Essentially, the temple consisted of a rectangular room that could be reached by a trapdoor which opened out onto street level. There was no indication that the teeth and jawbone had ever been here and upon breaking into this dusty space, Phil's team had just found some old documents and ledgers from that time, none of which they could read.

Ted assumed that something useful was written down in there but if he couldn't read it, he would have to wait for Nate and the others to catch up. That meant setting up a trap.

He was getting ever closer to that moment where he would have to choose between the life of his friends and his own.

It seemed better just to procrastinate and keep putting off the decision but he knew the time would come eventually. Ted grunted. He was the nice guy, why did all this crap happen to him? Why couldn't he have just won the lottery?

Ted rubbed the good side of his face, his back against the wall, knees drawn up. Idly, he found a coin in his pocket and flicked it, mentally assigning the sides the options he now had open to him.

Heads, he killed one of them. Tails, he let them go and his niece died. Not to mention him as well.

His eyes followed the coin all the way till it landed.

Ted frowned; the coin had wedged itself in a crack.

Not heads, not tails.

Ted sighed, just his luck, he couldn't even flip a coin to sort out his problems. Typical.

Rubbing his dusty hands through his hair, he looked to his left where the large hieroglyph was painted and then back at the coin. Without really knowing why, he picked the coin out and ran his finger along the crack in the sandy floor.

It was thin but widened out after a foot or so. A thick layer of sand covered it up but Ted moved his booted feet over it in a brushing manner. The sand cleared and he put fingers to the crack.

Ted's eyes widened. There was a faint breeze, barely enough to shift the dust but still there all the same, coming from the wider fault. He tried to look down it but it was too narrow. He then put his ear to the ground, drawing stares from his team but he ignored them.

He told the others to be quiet.

Ted squinted, holding his breath. He could just about hear it. The sound of running water.

He called his men over and excited by this new discovery, began to dig straight away.

Using a pick axe they were able to turn the split ground into a sizeable hole. One of the men threw a lit flare down. The light revealed a fifty foot drop and before the flare could show anything else, it hit what seemed to be a raging underground river and fizzled out.

Before the light disappeared, Ted made out a rotting wooden structure, stretching the distance top to bottom, whose location corresponded with the middle of the room that Phil's men were in.

Without explaining to his team, Ted ran to the middle of the room and cleared the sand away to reveal a wooden trap door. Using a crow bar for leverage he wedged it open and the sound of gushing water filled the room. The wooden structure turned out to be a very old and moist staircase that seemingly led to nowhere.

The only way to know for sure was for someone to go down there.

The others peered into the gloom through the trapdoor.

'I don't really want to go down there,' one of them said.

'Me neither,' another added.

'Looks well creepy.'

'Yeah, and that wooden thing looks like it would break if an ant walked on it.'

Ted sighed, 'Come on guys. Don't be like that.'

The others looked at him, 'Boss, it looks like death down there.'

'I know, but what if I tied a rope around one of you guys, then you'll be safe,' Ted tried but the men grumbled and shuffled their feet. They has known Ted for a long time and knew that if no one volunteered he would just do it himself.

Ted grumbled. 'Fine, I'll do it myself.'

The mood became lighter instantly and one of the men handed Ted a rope.

He wondered how the man had managed to produce the rope so quickly.

Slightly happier with something to distract him from his dark thoughts, Ted tied the rope around his waist and placed a foot tentatively on the first step.

The wood groaned in protest but held. Ted exhaled. Just take it slowly.

It wasn't a few steps down, that Ted had to turn on the lamp that rested on his forehead. It hurt but he tried to ignore the pain.

The stairs seemed to go down a long way but Ted persevered and slowly made his way down.

Back at the top, the team broke for a tea break and unintentionally forgot to tie Ted's rope to anything solid.

Ted was unaware of this and thought he was about a quarter of the way down when he paused, the wood here seemed in a worse condition than further up. He was deciding what to do next when he felt the wood below him shudder violently.

He grabbed one of support beams and waited for it to stop. Eventually it did but not after nearly giving Ted a heart attack and a half.

Here's the thing about Ted, he was told to choose his own life or his friends', he needed money to save his niece from a life threatening disease, one side of his face was burned good and proper, he worked for a mad, overweight man called Phil, he was pretty sure he was in love with a woman called Chloe Frazier but wasn't sure if she felt the same way, he had a fat blister on his left heel and was owed twenty dollars by the guy who worked at the gas station, and now he was on a rickety, rotten wooden staircase that wouldn't pass any safety regulation in the world.

Ted had it tough but was still slightly optimistic, because that was the kind of guy he was.

He was just too nice to admit he had a problem with bad luck. It found him, wherever he was.

Like now for instance.

Someone, Ted possibly, would think that it was a stroke of good luck that stopped the staircase from shuddering like that but it wasn't over.

Not yet.

Because now, as if he didn't have enough things against him, the staircase collapsed.

Ted fell.

* * *

**I was like Sully…I forgot about the parents' thing and then suddenly remembered it…**

**I'm pretty sure the wall I painted would look better if it was set on fire...swear down...jokes**

**Blisters hurt like a…well… y'know…I also said that I would update weekly and that was bad because so many random things have prevented me from doing that...it's results day for A-levels tomorrow so I don't know whether I will update quick because I will have to sort out all the university stuff...but hopefully it won't take too long and hopefully I won't fail...otherwise I would never finish the story...anyways...ramble ramble**

**Always tie the rope yourself…who knows what the other guys are doing…actually…just don't walk on staircases that look like they're gonna break…**

**I like toasties..they are well good…taste like awesome…**

**This chapter was long…and was mostly being mean to Ted…but that get's the story moving…**

**If I saw someone outside who looked dead…I would probably leave them like that…that doesn't make me uncaring though...I don't think...**

**Thanks for reading and thanks to 'ultravioletangel' and 'Anna Marie Raven' for their reviews**

**This story is actually getting somewhere now...and I don't think there will actually much left of the past...if the chapters stay this long then it will be over quicktime then over to the slightly more depressing present...I always say stuff like this but now I actually mean it...there aren't there many ways to drag this out any longer...just tie up the loose ends...**


	18. Rocky Ramp

**There has been a randomly large gap between chapters…due mainly to my laziness…and preparation for going to uni…and now actually going to uni…sorry**

**In the last chapter, Ted fell down a hole and the others found a man in the desert…awesome**

* * *

Chapter 17

Chloe stared at the man who was sandwiched between her and Sully.

Nate turned in his passenger seat. He too, was gazing fixatedly.

Elena with a little more finesse regularly flicked her eyes to the rear view mirror which was positioned to show the stranger's face instead of the rolling desert behind them.

Sully didn't even try to hide his gaping mouth.

The stranger sat happily munching on a granola bar that had been given to him, unaware of the attention he was drawing. At some point though long after the food was eaten, the man did seem to notice that the driver was staring intently at the rear view mirror and not actually through the windscreen. This in itself was rather weird because he was pretty sure there were no other cars around, furthermore, he didn't even know that this was a road.

'Is something wrong?'

Somehow, this made things worse. Everyone was now staring…harder.

'This is kind of creepy…could you stop?'

Chloe was the first to speak. 'What's your name?' she demanded.

'Barry.'

There was a sharp intake of breath from everyone except Barry, who wondered if it was better to be left lying in the desert because these people were strange. Was it his accent? Last time he remembered, having a British accent wasn't a crime.

'You don't like the name Barry?' Barry went out on a limb, trying to figure out why he was being targeted.

Someone came to their senses, it happened to be Elena. She shook her head and smiled ruefully.

'Sorry, you just look like someone we used to know,' she explained. Barry relaxed, this was a normal explanation.

'Yeah, his name was Harry,' Nate carried on, gauging Barry's reaction. It couldn't be a coincidence that this man looked exactly the same as Harry Flynn. Once a friend and now a dead enemy, the only thing separating the two was hair colour. Barry had very dark brown hair, all one colour.

Barry gave Nate a blank look, 'I don't know any Harrys.'

Ok, maybe it could be a coincidence.

Chloe sat back in her seat, thoughtful of the quick flashback that had charged through her mind when she first looked at this Barry.

Harry Flynn wasn't exactly hero material but he could've been a good guy if he tried hard enough. Chloe frowned, well he had chosen his sides…she didn't owe him anything. His death still troubled her though from time to time.

'So…Barry…why are you in the desert?' Sully asked.

'I was doing research for a film and my truck was attacked, the raiders stole my jeep and all my supplies,' Barry explained.

'You work on films?' Elena asked, a spark of interest in her eyes. It struck close to her reporting days. Something like that could have happened to her.

Nate was thinking the same thing and thought that the next time Elena went anywhere he was sending an armed guard but then again, Elena could handle herself…it was usually the others in the crew who got into trouble.

'I'm a film director,' Barry said proudly, puffing out his chest.

Chloe raised an eyebrow. 'Really?'

Barry ignored the scepticism in her voice.

'Yup, and I was doing research for my latest film, what about you guys?'

This was met with silence till Sully spoke. 'D'ya really want to know?'

Chloe huffed and summed up the story so far. Barry leant back and whistled, 'If you didn't have a bandage on your leg I don't think I would have believed you. It sounds like something out of a film. Or even a game. Come to think of it, this sounds a lot like that game Unfathomed: Jake's Fortune.'

Nate instantly sat up, 'Wow, really? That's like the best game ever!'

Elena rolled her eyes at his schoolboy tone. You'd think he was fifteen again or something. Men and video games. Yeesh, something she would never understand.

Barry grinned, 'I know isn't it awesome. The bit where explosive rabbits are chasing Jake and Yelena through the burning jungle is the best. Especially when the rabbit king eats the grenade at the end…awesome.'

Nate nodded enthusiastically, 'Yeah, but I like the multiplayer mode better. It's just so addictive.'

Elena couldn't agree more. Surely there was a whole country's worth of abandoned girlfriends whose boyfriends couldn't get off this damn game.

'You're Jake and Elena is Yelena. It fits,' Barry went on.

'What about me?' Chloe asked eagerly.

'You can be Jake's evil ex who seems kinda bad at the beginning and then it turns out she is actually good and then after that it's like she's bad again and then she gets captured and Jake has to save you only it gets confusing after that.'

Chloe was quiet for a moment. 'So I'm a main character?'

Barry thought about this for a second, 'I guess so.'

Chloe was satisfied with this and looked out of the window.

Elena wasn't sure about this character analysis and was just about to say something when Sully, who had been unusually quiet spoke.

'I think it's lovely that we have made up people who are like us, now can we focus on the part where we don't drive off a cliff?'

'What?' Elena quickly said, looking away from the rear view mirror and through the windscreen. Indeed, they were speeding straight for what seemed to be an extensive chasm which spread for at least half a kilometre. She immediately hit the brakes and not for the first time on their little trip, Sully wondered why they always entrusted the driving to Elena.

Seriously, without him these guys wouldn't last five minutes.

They all exited and peered over the edge of the cliff, a gusty wind kicked up clouds of dust. When it had settled again, Nate could see a dizzying drop, at the end of which was a meandering river that looked quite calm till you saw the rapids further down.

'Wow, what are we going to do?' Sully asked.

Elena fished a map from the car and tried to find out where they actually were.

Barry stuck his head over the crumbling lip of rock and gazed at the chasm thoughtfully. 'Isn't this the bit where we back up a considerable distance, gun the engine and hurtle towards a rocky ramp and glide gracefully over the gap and onto the other side unharmed.'

There was a moment's silence while this was absorbed.

'I don't think so,' Elena said, looking over the top of the map.

'Yeah, uh, I don't think it would work in real life,' Nate added.

Barry shrugged, 'It would have looked good in a film.'

'This is definitely not a film,' Chloe grumbled, rubbing her aching leg.

'I need the loo,' Sully said, just so everyone knew.

'So how do we get across?' Chloe asked, looking to either side of the gap. There didn't seem to be any crossing and it looked like the cliff ran for miles either way.

There was more quiet as Nate traced their route with a finger while Elena struggled to hold the map open in the wind that had now started up.

They got back into the jeep, the afternoon heat making them uncomfortable. That and they all had a niggling suspicion that they were about to do something very stupid.

After a few minutes, Nate folded the map and sighed, 'I don't know where the heck we are. I suppose we could drive in one direction and hope the gap narrows enough so we can drive over it.'

There was some more silence.

The occupants shifted uneasily as if what they were all contemplating was actual suicide.

'I think I see a rocky ramp over there,' Barry said after a while.

Elena closed her eyes.

Definitely suicide.

The jeep began to back up slowly.

…

Phil stared down the gap in the floor, listening to the roar of rushing water some distance below.

The other men stood nervously to one side.

Phil couldn't believe what he had heard at first.

Ted was dead. Actually dead.

Phil scratched his chin. There was no actual way to determine that but since this was real life, no one could have survived the fall and then the water. He would have drowned.

Nasty way to go. Phil had little sympathy because he was quite evil.

'Do we know where Drake is?' he asked one of the men.

'Nosir,' the man replied quickly, 'but a jeep was seen near the Harassi Gorge in Sudan by a military surveillance plane.'

Phil frowned hard, 'Isn't that the place where the Sudanese army are training at the moment?'

'I think so.'

There was a pause where some nefarious decisions were being made.

Phil grinned. 'Get me the commander of that base. I want a word with him.'

…

General Ikbusi was busy. His whole life had been busy but right now he was extra busy. It wasn't his fault that the tank gunner forgot that the safety on his high powered mounted machine gun was off and it wasn't his fault when said gunner pulled the trigger to 'check it worked' while the barrel was aimed at the canteen tent.

Now he had twenty wounded men and three bean soup which was a lot redder than it should be.

He wiped a hand across his face.

He sat in his mobile command unit which sat smack bang in the middle of one of the most inhospitable places on earth but luckily, thanks to modern technology, he had a laptop with internet. When times got tough, the general found he could always watch a humorous internet video to de-stress with.

A private came out of nowhere with a satellite phone.

This unnerved Ikbusi because only the really important calls came on that phone. Frowning at who it could be now, the general took the phone, not in the mood for listening to some bureaucrat in a shiny suit sitting in a air conditioned office. God what he wouldn't do for a fan right now.

However, the voice on the other end was very persuasive and General Ikbusi soon found himself changing the day's planned exercises.

…

Somewhere in the upper reaches of the atmosphere a surveillance aircraft cruised over the north African deserts.

It's primary use was to provide ground units with mock intelligence data for the training manoeuvres but now the orders were being changed.

The technician officer's hands flew across a keyboard as he inputted the new parameters.

The video feed began to focus on a specific location. Harassi Gorge covered a huge amount of area and narrowing it down would be hard but after a few moments the officer had something grainy but usable.

He sent the images directly to General Ikbusi before returning to his funny youtube video.

…

'You know this is madness? Right?' Chloe said, holding on to the seat in front of her as the jeep began to pick up speed.

Elena gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were bone white.

Barry looked at his pale companions, 'What's the matter guys? It's gonna work. It always works.'

Chloe couldn't help but think as soon as they got rid of one loony another one seems to show up to take his place.

…

General Ikbusi checked the new photos against the ones that the voice on the phone had sent him.

They matched more or less.

There was an extra person but that didn't matter.

It was common for someone to go into the desert and not come out again.

By the end of this day, he wouldn't have to wish for a fan anymore. He could actually buy one. In fact he'd buy a hundred. Just so other people would be like wow…look at all his fans...he must feel sufficiently breezed all the time.

It didn't occur to him that a hundred fans could possibly produce enough wind power to wish for a heater the good general hadn't really thought that far ahead.

He reached for his radio and mobilized the troops.

…

Elena hit the brakes but this didn't stop the screams of every occupant in the car though.

After they had all tilted forward and slammed back into their seats, they managed to close their mouths.

Nate clutched his heart which was battering against his ribcage with force, while in the back seat Sully went limp, unsure that his heart was actually beating anymore.

Elena held the wheel with two hands but her head was bowed, a bead of sweat lingered on her forehead. She couldn't actually understand how she had believed that she could drive a jeep over a chasm with nothing but a rocky ramp.

Chloe managed to crack her eyelids open having screwed them shut so tightly when the jeep had began to accelerate. Breathing heavily, Chloe quickly ascertained that she was indeed still alive and not splattered across some nice looking desert geography. She tried to remember what had just happened and found that she couldn't even remember when the screaming had started…one person had started and suddenly it seemed like the right thing to do and everyone else had quickly joined in. For the sake of her pride Chloe hoped it hadn't been her who had started screaming first.

In fact the person who had started screaming first hadn't even stopped and it wasn't till Chloe knocked him on the head with her fist did he actually shut up.

'I don't know why you're the one screaming so loudly, it was your idea in the first place,' Chloe said, her voice hoarse.

'I didn't actually think we were gonna go through with it,' he mumbled, not entirely sure if his pants were clean anymore.

Nate turned to look at the three passengers in the back. He frowned.

'I think Sully's dead.'

Barry poked the prone body next to him. Sully twitched and groaned.

'He's ok,' Barry said.

Chloe wasn't convinced with Barry's expert medical opinion and leaning over, slapped Sully on the face.

He jerked forward and scowled, 'What was that for?'

'We thought you were dead,' Chloe explained, 'You should be grateful that we bothered to check.'

Sully grunted and looked outside the window.

'We're still on the same side of the gorge.'

Chloe rolled her eyes and Elena spoke.

'Luckily, I managed to regain my senses and use the brakes before I actually killed you all,' she sighed, 'I think we are just going to have to drive along till we find a crossing.'

Nate suddenly went still.

Elena noticed his change in behaviour and asked him what was wrong, she was surprised when he said nothing but put a finger to his lips.

Wordlessly he got out of the 4x4 and looked out over the gorge a hand above his eyes for shade.

'What's going on?' Sully wondered and got out too.

'I can hear something,' Nate muttered and it didn't sound good.

Sully strained his ears but couldn't make out a sound, only the constant rumbling of his stomach. As far as he was concerned it was just them and the desert, and the desert was a quiet kind of place. Elena handed him a pair of binoculars and swearing under his breath, Sully confirmed Nate's fears, 'Looks like army choppers loaded for bear.'

Nate grunted. He doubted that these people weren't here to help them. Probably kill them. It was always to kill them. Why couldn't they be delivering flowers or something for once? That would be a nice change.

'Ok, it's probably safe to assume that these aren't good guys…and to be honest…there isn't really anywhere to hide…we need a plan,' he said to the group.

Barry went still, at first Elena thought this was out of fear then she saw the excited glint in his eyes.

'You mean…you have _real_ baddies trying to get you?' he asked with wonder and amazement.

'Yes, there are always bad guys trying to kill us,' Chloe replied, 'I feel kinda sorry for you…since you're a minor character, I can't guarantee your safety.'

Barry didn't seem to care. The idea of an actual fight scene was just too much. Think of the movie experience he would get out of it. The ideas started to flow in Barry's extra creative mind…think of the films he could make. If only those raiders hadn't stolen his video camera, he would have been the envy of all action film directors. Possibly.

Sully took his silence as a bad thing and patted the newcomer on the shoulder, 'Don't worry about it, you get used to it after the fourth or fifth time.'

Nate didn't like the look of Barry's expression and had the feeling another liability had just joined the group. Great, another life on his conscience.

Now that the helicopters were visible without binoculars, time was running short. There was literally nowhere to hide and it would be child's play to take out the jeep while they tried to escape. No, the only way to do this was to try and get the helicopters to land…at least one anyway.

'Nate?' Elena asked, wondering what he had been thinking. She recognised the look on his face. He was planning something crazy and more than a little bit risky.

Nate turned to her, serious expression making Elena even more worried.

'We are going to steal a helicopter.'

Barry nearly wet his pants in excitement.

…

**This is a short chapter…and probably not even a really exciting one but what the hell...I have stuff to do…mainly clothes washing and cleaning my bathroom…but stuff nonetheless…jokes…this chapter is short because it leads on to the next one pretty well…and I still haven't figured out how they are going to steal a helicopter…**

**Lots of stuff has happened since the last chapter in terms of life…I am more busy than before with uni stuff…presentations and essays and other fun things like that…but chapters will appear at some point…so I thank everyone for their patience and I wouldn't be at all surprised if you just gave up reading now…I know I probably would have…thanks for reading…again…and if anyone knows how to steal helicopters please give me a shout…**

**One last thing…I really wanted to say loaded for bear…I heard it in COD…it makes me laugh…sorry…and never drive over rocky ramps in an attempt to cross a chasm…it doesn't work…I tried it with those cars which you pull back and then they go forward…it was an old MacDonald's toy…'nuff said**

**Toodle pip**

**Thanks for reading…**


	19. RnB Hit Sensation

**YOP**

**Merry Christmas….it is wrong that it has taken this long…**

**To make up for my rubbishness as an author I present you with this...on the Playstation store there is an awesome trailer for the new uncharted...it looks very awesome...It doesn't reveal much except Nate doing what Nate does best...getting into alot of trouble...**

**By the time I put this chapter up you probably would have all seen it by now...lol I am way up to date...**

**Ok…in the last chapter the gang were about to get attacked and needed to steal a helicopter…now onto something new**

**Thanks to ultravioletangel and Anna Marie Raven who suggested how to do this..**

* * *

Chapter 18

_Present day_

Nate adjusted the controls of the Gulfstream G650 and gazed, bemused at the clouds whipping past at break neck speed.

His mind lingered on dark thoughts consisting of his recent status update to fatherhood which was potentially, by the sounds of it, going to be quite short. His life had been pretty straightforward till now and Nate wondered what he had done to deserve this. He had saved the world enough times to gain some sort of good karma, hadn't he?

In fact, now that Nate had thought about it properly, he had come to terms with having a child, being a parent and the responsibility that came with it. Well, he was pretty sure he had. In the early days he had doubted whether he really wanted this. A child was a big thing. It would be his. He couldn't give it back. He would have to teach it what was right and what was wrong, while not really knowing himself what that was. To top it all off, Elena wanted this and that fact probably held more sway than anything else. Elena meant more than a great deal to Nate. In essence her happiness was his happiness. Another one of those inexplicable things that Nate's man-brain didn't fully understand.

Plunged into this weird world of reality, Nate wondered if he was out of his depth. Things like this didn't happen and complications at birth definitely didn't happen. His child was meant to be born normally and he would have been there with a video camera making the strangest home movie ever and just getting in the way while Elena yelled at him to hold her hand and do the breathing exercises with him. That was how it was supposed to go. It wasn't meant to be like…this.

There wasn't meant to be this much suffering and pain.

Now that he was a father, it felt wrong to have it taken away so suddenly. He hadn't even seen his own son.

Son. Nate grimaced, it felt alien in his mind. He felt useless. He couldn't save the day with an epic gunfight that ran like a cut scene from a game.

He couldn't do anything. This bothered Nate more than anything else about this situation.

Yet he couldn't quite push down the feeling that had taken root in the recesses of his mind.

A joy that was hard to explain.

He had a son. He was a father. It felt pretty good.

Nate wondered how long it would last.

…

In the fading evening light a boat bumped gently against the shores of southern Turkey.

A trio of men got off the boat. One had a crutch.

After they had adjusted to the solid ground after days of rough seas, the man with the crutch spoke.

'We need to hurry,' Phil muttered, his missing leg was itching and it was annoying the hell out of him.

'Are we going straight to Istanbul?' one of the others asked. Phil shook his head.

'Send the alpha team to the original site, I want it prepared for when we get there, you lot will come with me to the capital,' he ordered. This was relayed to the rest of the people on the boat, some disembarked and a few stayed on, lifting the anchor.

Without so much as a goodbye, the boat had set sail again, and soon couldn't be seen through the gloom of the starless night sky.

Phil turned to the dusty road ahead of him where a some jeeps had been left just as planned. Things were going well for once and Phil was determined not to fail again. He didn't have enough limbs to lose.

Rubbing his hands together in typical evil glee, Phil watched on as his team loaded the jeeps.

Soon they were off, destination: Istanbul.

If Phil's intel was correct and it usually was, this was where he would find Elena Fisher.

And then, well, things would get really interesting.

…

Sully sat in the co-pilot's seat, silently worried about his friend, but utterly unsure how to help him. Nate had been quiet the whole journey, this didn't bode well. Then again, Sully couldn't really blame him, he did have a lot to think about. Elena, the baby, the random Icelandic volcano that was going to make their trip a lot harder than it should be.

Leaning back in his plush leather seat, Sully thought about the recent turn of events. He was just thinking how lucky it was that Miguel happened to have a fuelled aircraft waiting to go when it occurred to him that the aeroplane was a little bit out of Miguel's price range.

'Uh, Miguel, where did you get this plane?' Sully asked, turning to look behind him, where Miguel was sitting, happily eating some in flight peanuts.

'I stole it,' Miguel said simply.

Sully paled, he had a feeling things couldn't be this easy and was dreading the answer to his next question.

'Who from?'

…

With a flicker the cavernous space was filled with a stark, artificial light.

Two people entered, both similarly clad even though one of the people seemed to be a lot younger than the other. In fact he looked to be about twelve but was in fact sixteen, his companion was taller. As well as this, they both wore sunglasses, while the lights were bright this didn't quite excuse the fact that it was night time and wearing sunglasses was probably more of a hindrance than anything.

The younger person, who was called Justin, would have said it looked cool and complimented his baseball cap which was tilted at an angle.

The older man frowned in confusion at the empty space in front of him.

'Why did you take me to this empty hanger?' Justin asked as if this sort of thing happened all the time.

RnB hit sensation Usher turned to his friend, 'I think somebody just stole your surprise birthday present.'

Justin whipped off his sunglasses in a fluid motion that would have had fan girls melting into a giant puddle of mush.

'Oh my God!'

Usher agreed.

…

'I don't know, I think it was somebody famous though,' Miguel answered in an offhand way. Sully turned silently back to cockpit window. Some people…were just too weird to try understand.

'Come to think of it,' Miguel continued, 'I think there was a big banner hanging above saying 'Happy Birthday Justin!'…I did wonder about that.'

Sully frowned, deep in thought, 'Why does that sound so familiar?'

To the surprise of both men on the plane, Nate spoke, 'He stole this plane from Usher, I found the birthday card on one of the seats. It was a present to someone called Justin.'

'Poor Justin,' Sully said after he had digested this new information. He didn't have a clue who this Justin was or what he did, come to think of it he wasn't even really sure who Usher was but that wasn't the point. The point was…well…they were flying stolen property. Sully tapped his armrest, this really shouldn't bother him, he had done it quite a few times. Maybe it was because there was a name to this hapless victim whose plane they had stolen. Usually it was just some pirate…and nobody really cared about pirates…not unless it was Captain Jack Sparrow…Sully shook his head. He was going off on a tangent which was a sure sign that he needed to rest but there was just too much on his mind.

Nate was thinking similar things, albeit without the Jack Sparrow thing. If this plane was stolen from such a high profile celebrity they might have some trouble. Especially if Usher wanted his plane back. This thing would be fitted with GPS or something. They would know where they were going. More things to worry about.

Nate sighed. This was not a good day. Not at all.

…

Chloe huffed.

Ted looked at her sideways instead of looking out the helicopter window. Well, it was only the sky, what was he going to fly into? Chloe was better to look at, especially when she looked so annoyed.

Having dallied in London a little longer than they should have, Ted felt that they needed to make good time to Turkey which was why he insisted on cashing in a few favours and now, here they were flying somewhere over Europe in a chopper that was not loaded to bear.

He hoped Elena was ok, this was going to be a long journey.

'When will we get there?' Chloe asked quietly and Ted turned away from her. This was hard, on all of them. They didn't even know what to expect when they finally got there.

'Still a long way,' Ted said vaguely, unsure himself. Helicopters weren't that fast.

'I wish I could just do something helpful, but I'm just sitting here in this damned helicopter feeling useless,' Chloe muttered, venting some frustration and accurately summing up what most of our heroes were currently thinking at the moment.

Ted patted her knee which was received with a lingering scowl.

'We are doing something. It's taking time but we will get to Elena and we will be there for her,' Ted said.

'I don't even know what that even means,' Chloe replied. Ted looked at her.

'Well, we will go there, analyse the situation and using our super awesome skills we will know what to do to make Elena feel better,' Ted explained. Chloe gave him the raised eyebrow look.

'Just like that?'

Ted smiled, 'Just like that.'

Chloe gave him a deadpan look, 'You are an idiot, you know that?'

Ted feigned a hurt look but Chloe rolled her eyes, 'You're also a grown man, act like one.'

'I think that when we get there, things will be clearer,' Ted began, more serious. 'I think it helps just having people who care about you around.'

Even Chloe could see the sense in this.

Having come with his own set of family issues, Chloe supposed Ted knew what he was talking about and pushing this further was only going to make them think about it more. It would be better to talk about something else. Keep the morale up or something like that. Chloe racked her brains to find a topic they could talk about.

'So, I heard on the news that somebody stole Usher's aeroplane. Fancy that. I wonder who did it?'

…

Elena was hurting.

She didn't really know why it should hurt this much, she thought she was a strong person who could deal with anything.

This wasn't just anything though. This was her child. Her son.

Elena really wanted Nate, to the extent that she would have given her left arm to see him walk through those worn wooden doors.

The nurses were kind, the doctors thorough but there wasn't much that could be done.

It was up to him. A baby. Her baby.

You couldn't expect something that small to fight for its life. That wasn't fair. Right now, whoever was in charge of the world was doing a pretty crappy job of it.

Elena sat back in the shabby chair that had been placed next to the clear plastic box that separated her from her child. The machines whirred and beeped in a sterile, mechanical sort of way. They didn't care if the baby died. They were just machines. Elena wondered where her exhausted thoughts would take her next. At first she had listened painstakingly to every beep of the heart monitor wondering if the next one would ever come, but for now it seemed that this child wanted to live and she had become accustomed to its tone.

A smiling nurse gave her a thin blanket which seemed a strange thing to give since it was quite a humid night, perhaps it was a comfort thing. Something to hold instead of balling her fists up so hard that her nails dug into her palms and bled. She was so tired now, Elena could feel her head lolling to one side, body begging for some rest. The exhaustion set in but still she forced herself to stay awake. To take in every painful second of her child's existence.

Elena wanted to cry.

She had already done so once and didn't really want to go through it again. Too much grief and too much pain exploding through you at once was not a pretty sight.

Elena also didn't want to be alone anymore. She needed to see familiar face. A friend.

It gave her something to think about, to know that her friends were coming. It made her feel stronger, slightly, and she would have to be if she wanted to get through this.

Elena gathered up the last remnants of her energy and on that quiet night, she steeled her mind for whatever was to come and promised herself that she would hang on till her friends arrived. Till Nate arrived.

With those thoughts burning in her mind, Elena could feel the inevitable sleep coming for her. It was just too much to stay awake, an hour or two was alright. Wasn't it? Unable to fight it any longer, Elena put her head down, her eyes closed to the tiny human being which was hers. Hers and Nate's.

So sleep deprived was she that even when the steady beep of the heart monitor turned to one continuous drone she didn't wake up.

* * *

**This took way too long to appear…I seem to say that a lot…sorry guys…**

**This story goes on and on…I need to stop it…I need to finish it lol**

**Also…yeah…it was turning out to be a crazy chapter again…it happens when Miguel is in them so I tried to make it serious when Elena came along…poor her…she needs a break…**

**It took till Christmas to get this out wow….a lot has happened since then…but yes…the new game looks awesome…I can't wait…**

**Usher…I'm not a fan of RnB music but lol…I'm not really sure myself how that ended up there…**

**Well ok…**

**Thanks for reading…and a very merry Christmas to you all and a Happy New Year…have a good one guys…A review would be nice…not wanting to beg or anything…I will if it comes to that…lol no…take it easy…and if Santa is reading this then I would appreciate an iPod dock…to listen to all that awesome non-Usher/Justin music that I have..thanks…**


	20. Chicken Tonight

**Yop and a happy new year…It is wrong that this is six months later than I intended it to come out…I am very sorry…The fact I apologise so much for my lateness isn't a good thing…**

**Santa didn't come through for me so I had to buy my own iPod dock …he clearly hasn't lived yet if he isn't reading this…jokes…jokes**

**In the last six months there have been loads of announcements about Uncharted 3…it looks pretty awesome…why are all British people bad…people with accents in general...except if you are Chloe for some reason…apparently Australians can't be evil…**

**Anyways, in the last chapter, Elena had a tough time and Justin's plane got stolen…the usual…**

* * *

Chapter 19

The sun beat down in the midday sky.

Where one of the many sewage overflow pipes that criss-crossed the Nile Delta met with fresh air something was about to happen.

The rusted metal grate that covered the opening had fallen off long ago and nearby a local man, by the name of Kadir was fishing. What for, he wasn't sure. Fish rarely came so close to reeds but he tried anyway. Although he was poor, Kadir was content, fishing was an ok job, he and his family ate what he was able to catch and that seemed to be enough. Sometimes, a treasure in the form of odd shoes or clothes would wash out from the giant overflow pipe and found by the right person these could be sold on.

Today, Kadir was having a bad day with the fish. He was about to give up when something caught his eye. A black blob was floating towards him. To Kadir's trained eye he could tell it was a men's size eight work boot. Worth a few bob once it was dried out.

With an expert flick of his fishing pole, Kadir hooked the boot, reeled it in and dumped it in his old boat. Frowning, he looked around for the other shoe. If there were a pair of these it would be worth a lot more. Enough to buy some chicken. Kadir liked chicken, being a fisherman meant he didn't get to eat a lot of it.

After five minutes or so, Kadir spotted the other boot, it was floating right beside his boat. He reached for it expecting little resistance. Unfortunately for Kadir the boot was still attached to its owners foot.

Kadir pulled enough to see up to a man's knee before he let go in shock. A dead body? He hadn't seen one of those before. He wondered if he could sell a dead body. He was really set on having chicken for dinner.

Maybe he could just take the shoe. The dead person wouldn't mind.

Following the body's path down the shallow river, Kadir watched as it snagged on some reeds and came to a halt on a pebbly sand bank. Now that the body was out of the water, Kadir could see that the man was white.

Kadir was a simple man and a dead white man was the same as any dead man, which meant he could still take the shoes.

Having left his boat, he crouched by the body. It didn't smell, which was a good thing. The shoes would lose their value if Kadir couldn't get rid of the dead body smell and that meant no chicken for dinner.

Kadir looked the body up and down…the clothes were ripped and weren't worth anything but there was a watch on one wrist which was still working. This caught Kadir's eye and he wondered if the man had a wallet, well, if he did it would be soaking wet and any money would be too…but it was worth a try.

Then Kadir noticed the man's face. It wasn't very nice.

Badly burned on one side and normal on the other, Kadir winced, water hadn't done the injuries any good and they looked infected.

As he was untying the shoe laces on the boot, the dead man stirred.

Kadir dropped the laces. Maybe he had just imagined it.

The body moved again. An arm twitched.

Kadir froze, he seriously doubted he was getting chicken tonight.

…

Sully sat in the helicopter silently.

The past hour had been a blur. He was pretty sure he knew what had happened but that still didn't mean it had to make sense.

'Tell me we just didn't do what I think we did?' Sully asked rhetorically. The others grimaced and Nate concentrated on the controls of the helicopter he was flying.

Barry on the other hand, had no concept of the rhetorical question and answered straightaway. 'Yes, it did happen, a hundred helicopters were coming towards us, we were trapped, with nowhere to go and then a stroke of genius came upon Nate who had this amazing plan. We listened and exclaimed that it could not be done but he said, nay, it can. So we all got out of the jeep and watched as Nate backed it up a fair way and then he accelerated, faster and faster, up the rocky ramp and into the sky towards the first helicopter. For a split second the helicopter was perfectly aligned with the flying jeep and in this time Nate jumped from the car to the helicopter, overpowered the crew and sent them tumbling down into the ravine. Then with a recklessness that no one knew he possessed, Nate took on the ninety nine helicopters that were out to kill him. It was a courageous battle which Nate heroically won. Landing quickly we clambered aboard and are now on our way to Egypt.'

Barry took a bow and Chloe gave him a disgusted look, but she had to give him credit, he did know how to tell a story.

'I don't say nay,' Nate said shortly.

Sully gaped, 'I'm pretty sure absolutely none of that happened.'

Barry settled down, 'Yeah, it didn't, but just imagine if it had. It would have made a great movie.'

'I don't say nay,' Nate interjected, waiting to be heard.

Elena rolled her eyes.

Nate rubbed his shoulder where reality had hit him in the form of a Sudanese soldier who knew how to throw a punch.

So they hadn't used the rocky ramp.

No, that would be a little bit unbelievable.

…

In actuality, there had been two helicopters not a hundred and each carried about ten men. One of the helicopters hovered and the soldiers abseiled down.

Nate watched this with interest.

Barry instantly put his hands up in surrender and Chloe scowled at him.

Underestimating the people they had been ordered to capture, the other helicopter did not unload but lingered way above.

As the soldiers advanced towards them. Nate put his hands up also and Elena looked at him.

'I hope you've got a plan,' she muttered.

Nate gave her a smile. 'When have I never had a plan?'

Chloe grunted, 'All the bloody time. We get into these situations, miracles occur and then after you say it all went to plan.'

Sully had to agree and raised his arms.

Might as well play along and wait for that miracle.

Seeing the this, the soldiers assumed the captives had surrendered. One said something into his radio and their helicopter started descend, throwing sand in every direction.

Somehow, in the poor visibility of the growing sand cloud, Nate saw his opening. By now the cloud had covered both them and the soldiers, who were closing in fast.

The helicopter pilot obviously thought this was going to be a quick turnaround because he didn't cut the engine and left the rotors running.

Whirling sand stung Nates eyes, through the tears he could make out the closest soldier and going on instinct yanked the gun out of the man's hand. The soldier was so surprised he barely gave any resistance, mostly because his eyes widened and more sand got in.

There was a brief lull where the other soldiers began to realise what had happened. Suddenly they raised their guns in an effort to maintain control. It wasn't going to work.

Sully, understanding that the miracle he had been waiting for had just occurred, swung his fist at a rather shocked soldier.

It didn't take long for the others to get involved, and then there was only Barry, arms still up, wondering whether he should join in the fray or just stand there taking in one of the most improbable fights he had ever witnessed.

With the indecision tearing him up, his mind was made when one of the soldiers missed Chloe and tagged him instead.

The helicopter pilot squinted out into the sand cloud and swore when he saw Nate and the others emerging from the swirling dust. He tried to rise but failed to do so in time. With little effort Nate vaulted into the cabin space closely followed by Sully and Elena. After the quick scuffle that usually occurs when there are three people against one, Nate took the controls, snapped on a pair of bulky headphones and with a furtive glance at the skies above, piloted the chopper into an accelerated ascent.

The others buckled themselves in, already expecting a bumpy ride.

'I don't feel so good,' Elena muttered rubbing her stomach, feeling queasy. Great, just what she needed, a bout of morning sickness while trying to escape the enemy. The chopper bucked as Nate tried to keep control. Elena bent over, hand against her mouth, a universal sign of 'I'm just about to hurl'.

Chloe got the meaning first and shook her head vehemently. 'No, no, if you are going to vomit, you are not going to do it in here,' she said pointing at the side doors, indicating Elena should stick her head out there and do her business.

'Don't you think that's a bit dangerous when we are trying to get away? What if they shoot at us?' Barry asked.

Chloe didn't care, 'We'll risk it. I'm not sitting in a helicopter with sick all over the floor. I have to draw the line somewhere.'

Elena undid the safety harness and staggered over to the window. Barry, with a little help from Sully managed to drag the sliding door back and they turned their heads at the sharp gust of wind that entered the hold. Chloe held Elena over the edge.

There was a tense moment when the helicopters levelled off with each other and for one prickly moment, Nate stared straight into the eyes of the pilot from the other helicopter.

If Nate wasn't mistaken, he was pretty sure he saw a degree of disgust on the man's face. Which didn't really make sense because, well, they hadn't even fired a gun. Nobody got so much as a bloody nose. Come to think of it the most of the crew were watching him, all with similar looks of disgust. Strange.

Taking advantage of this, Nate dispatched the soldiers with a barrage of missiles and felt relief course through him as the enemy copter went down in a fiery mess.

Then he turned around in his seat, with Chloe holding Elena and the other two gripping the door it sort of looked like they were going to throw Elena out.

'What the hell is going on?' he shouted over the whirling rotors.

Chloe grimaced and nodded her head at Elena, 'It's that time of the morning…Elena just puked…loads.'

Nate wondered how he could pass that off as a part of his so called plan.

…

The stranger stared at the chicken that was placed on his bed wordlessly.

He pushed it away.

Kadir stared after it, hungrily.

The stranger had tried to run away a few times already. The first time he was too weak to even make it down to the end of his ward. The second time he managed to get to the reception before a nurse realised her patient was missing.

'Look, I can't help you if you don't tell me anything,' the Egyptian detective said tiredly. His shift was over an hour ago but here he was trying to figure out what had happened to this tourist who looked like he came out of a sarcophagus himself with his bandaged head. This was his second day of talking to the man and if anything the detective was certain that this man had gotten himself into something criminal. Even if this was the case, the detective wanted to help. It was, after all, his job. Somebody had done something horrific to this man and they should have to pay.

At any rate, he needed a name so at least the hospital bill could be made out to someone. He understood that the staff were quite keen on getting rid of this unruly patient.

Kadir shifted from foot to foot nervously. He had stayed by the patient's bedside, in the hope of reward when the man was finally better. Nothing big, obviously. Maybe some poultry.

The bandaged patient looked away, staring through a small dusty window. He let out a pained sigh.

'My name is Ted,' the stranger finally said, ' and I need some help.'

The detective sat up at once and licked the end of his pencil. He was in business.

'You can have that if you want,' Ted said, eyeing the skinny man who was practically slavering.

Kadir didn't need to be told twice.

…

Everyone knew something was wrong when the helicopter started to judder and rock.

Nate fought with the controls and Elena moved up from the hold and sat with him.

'What's going?' she asked.

'We're running out of fuel,' Nate muttered quietly as to not alarm the others.

'Bloody hell! We're running out of fuel guys,' Barry shouted and Nate grunted. Typical.

Elena rolled her eyes. She was doing a lot of that lately. It seemed to happen a lot when she was with this particular group of people.

Chloe hurried to the front with a limp, 'Is it true? I never know if I should believe anything he says.'

Nate nodded and stared at Sully who had actually managed to doze off.

Meanwhile, Barry had prepared himself for the worst. He had strapped himself into a parachute, inflated a rubber dinghy, put a life-guarding ring around his waist and assumed the crash position. Just in case.

'What the hell do you think is going happen? And you know that the crash position doesn't actually do anything,' Chloe scowled, but really she was wondering how he had done it so quickly.

'I dunno, do I? I've never been in these situations,' Barry defended himself.

There was a slight bump and Nate powered the engines down.

Barry straightened, 'What happened?'

Elena slid a door open. 'We landed,' she said simply and jumped off.

Chloe shook her head at him as if she just didn't care anymore and followed suit.

Nate sat at the controls and sighed. He wasn't sure he had enough adrenaline left to finish this off.

He wondered when he had last slept in a proper bed. What was it like to sleep in a room with four solid walls? He could just imagine it now, his room back home, with a streak of sunlight streaming through a chink in the curtains soundlessly. He could almost feel it.

It truly felt like heaven when in reality he was stuck neck deep in dirt, sand, sweat, blood.

Nate only realised he was sleeping when Elena shook him gently by the shoulder. He looked round wildly, tensing, ready for the fight.

'Hey, take it easy,' Elena said, 'Sleep a little more.'

She sat on the seat next to his, he could vaguely make out the noises of the others coming from outside.

Nate looked at her. When was the last time they were even alone? Properly alone, not in a random jungle but actually in a building not made of mud and cow poop. Nate shook his head. What was he talking about? He was not normal. He didn't have time to think about stuff like this. He needed to figure out how to get through this alive. Not even just him, but Elena…and a baby.

The weight of it all was getting to him. Usually things keep going at a breakneck speed, he remembered the first time he met Elena. That adventure literally nearly all went down in one day. This wasn't. This didn't look like it was ending anytime soon…

'What are you thinking about,' Elena asked, cutting into Nate's thoughts. Nate hadn't mastered the concept of saying his thoughts out loud but he had definitely gotten better at it over time. It was one of those things that was absolutely required when one was in a committed relationship. Or so Elena had told him. Very strictly at that. She was looking at him rather in that same way as when she had given him that speech months ago.

Nate managed a weak smile, 'Well, I was just thinking how this adventure is taking ages. Y'know. It is isn't ending at all. Weeks ago I was bored out of mind. Now, for the first time in my life I wish I wasn't on this adventure at all. Why didn't I just stay at home?'

'You're Nathan Drake. You wouldn't be you if you weren't on an adventure,' Elena replied gently.

'Yes, but things are different now,' Nate muttered watching Elena's face turned a special shade of green. Hand over mouth she stumbled over to the helicopters doors and let loose.

Nate almost smiled at the disgusted sounds made by the others.

'Eurgh, that was right on my shoe,' Chloe complained.

'Blimey,' was about as much as Barry could get out. He had never quite travelled with such a group before. It was an interesting experience.

'Where does it all come from?' Sully grunted, 'When I think you're done and it's safe to look you just barf all over again. It's nasty.'

Elena sat down. She wasn't the only one who felt drained.

'By the way, does anyone know where we are?' Barry asked.

Nate poked his head out of a window in the cockpit, 'Take a look around, see anything you recognise?'

The group instantly swivelled heads.

This time Nate did smile at the sounds he heard.

'Oh my God,' Chloe breathed.

'The pyramids?' Sully cried incredulously. 'Don't we need like a permit or something to land here?'

As if to answer this question, a couple of policemen were walking towards them while a bunch of tourists dawdled and stared.

'I've got a disabled badge somewhere,' Chloe muttered, rooting around in her bag.

'Somehow, I don't think that's quite going to cut it,' Sully said.

It was at this point that Barry proved his worth as a human being and his name was struck from Chloe's list of loony's-met-on-an-adventure. Grabbing the badge that Chloe had just managed to find, he strutted towards the policemen, gesturing wildly.

'What the hell is doing?' Nate wondered in fascination.

'He's convincing them that we benign creatures are gods that have come down from the heavens to stop an evil man called Phil destroying the world,' Sully said, trying to think of something utterly ludicrous.

'At least he's trying something,' Elena said.

'There is no way this is going to work,' Chloe grumbled under her breath.

The policemen walked off.

Nate, Sully and Elena looked at Chloe, eyebrows raised.

Chloe spluttered and turned to Barry when he had returned, triumphant smile plastered across his familiar face.

'What on earth did you say to them?'

'That we were gods who were trying to save world.'

Chloe closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she counted to ten just in case the anger hadn't quite left.

'No, really. What did you say?' Sully asked.

'I told them I was a film director and that one of my actors was disabled and needed to be dropped in close to the shoot. Then I showed them my diplomatic immunity badge.'

There a brief silence.

'Sorry, what?' Elena said thickly.

'My dad is the Egyptian ambassador for the United Kingdom, I get immunity from almost anything, except illness,' Barry explained as if this was normal.

Chloe had run out of calming techniques and so cracked her knuckles in a fairly threatening way. 'Could you not have told us about that earlier?'

'Well, it only works in Egypt and since we were in Sudan….'

He had a point but the group still felt that this was something they should have been let in on.

'We should be able to get a bus or something to Cairo from here,' Barry said jovially.

'A bus?' Chloe wrinkled her nose. When was the last time they had used public transport for an adventure?

'Don't you have some limousine you can call up?' Sully wondered. Barry shook his head.

'No, only my dad gets one of those. I don't mind buses though,' he said.

'Guys, come on. We never take buses anywhere. We don't even have any money, can't we just…y'know…_steal one_,' Chloe suggested, whispering the last part even though the crowds were a fair distance away.

'If you hadn't noticed we don't exactly have a great choice,' Nate said, not entirely sure how he felt about hot wiring a tourist bus and feeling a little irritated. Stealing wasn't the answer to everything.

Stealing was wrong. Nate had the niggling feeling that this was something you were meant to teach children and didn't want to be a hypocrite when it came to teaching his own. It was a bit late for that kind of thinking to be honest but you had to start somewhere and Nate had decided that would be now. It wasn't the wisest choice in the world but taking the bus never hurt anyone.

'Don't we usually steal most of our modes of transportation?' Sully put in, siding with Chloe.

'Look, we are not stealing anything,' Nate said hotly.

There was an awkward silence.

'Ok. Ok. We'll take the bus,' Elena said, frowning after Nate as he moved towards civilisation.

They made their way sullenly to the tourist area. Elena hung back with Chloe whose limp was becoming more pronounced as the sand gave way beneath her feet.

'What do you think is up with Nate?' Elena asked quietly.

'I don't think I'm really the best person to ask about these things,' Chloe said bluntly. She was no agony aunt and wasn't about to become one. She saw Elena's troubled face and decided she could make an exception. Just this once.

'Look, I think he's just confused,' Chloe began, it was a general point to be fair but it was a start, 'and uh, stealing is bad and I suppose he feels that, uh, he would be a bad father because he steals and kills people.'

It wasn't the most plausible idea that Chloe had come up with but it would do. It also wasn't the most glowing reference she had given to Nate, but it was to an extent, accurate.

Elena thought about this silently. Nate had a lot on his plate at the moment, it would make sense if he was getting confused but he needed to know.

He needed to know that the things he had done and the things he would do would not make him a bad parent. His heart was in the right place. He was the hero.

He was the good guy.

…

Phil listened to the report.

By the end of it he was laughing hysterically. His men moved back. The trap door was still open and the sound of rushing water flooded the room.

They had managed to put a man down the hatch, this time without letting him fall to his death.

There was a rocky platform which could just be reached by ladder.

The laughter eventually subsided.

'I cannot believe this,' he muttered to himself. 'Can you believe it?' he asked his men.

They shook their heads.

'I should have learnt after all that trouble in Uganda. If you want something done, do it yourself.'

The men nodded.

Phil acknowledged this

'Good. Now, let's make a trap. A big trap. The type that usually results in death.'

An hour later someone passed Phil a traditional style mouse trap. Although larger, it definitely would not kill someone.

'What is this?' Phil asked ominously.

'It's a trap, sir,' one of the men said meekly.

'Do you think this will kill someone?'

'Well, their fingers would hurt a lot and while they were looking at their hand we could shoot them,' the man said as if this was logical.

Phil sighed.

He really needed to hire better people.

* * *

**I would definitely use a mouse trap…**

**Not much happened here but now it is actually getting somewhere…**

**Chicken is well tasty…**

**I am looking forward to the new game…it looks pretty awesome**


	21. Here We Go

**This chapter came out later than I intended because I randomly went to Canada for a relative's wedding…it was well good…since she married a Canadian there was an Indian ceremony and a western one the following day…I had never been to a western wedding before lol…it was well short compared to the Indian one…**

**I also bought a giant bag of Reece's pieces…That's about it…and then I went to Spain...it sounds a little boasty...but this doesn't usually happen in my life lol**

**I hope you all kept hold of your chicken…in the last chapter Nate and the gang learnt that Barry was an ambassador's son and Phil is going to set a trap and Ted gave some chicken away…**

**There is a bit of a jump in time here but I want to get the past over and done with…at the same time not a lot happens...I seem to be good at that...damn**

* * *

Chapter 19

'OW!'

'What the…?'

'Wait…is that a…?'

'Giant mousetrap? Yes, and would somebody please help me get the bloody thing off,' Chloe snapped irritably.

The band of heroes had managed to locate the underground temple which would hopefully lead them to the remaining dragon jawbone and teeth. Elena had checked the old documentaries in an archive that Barry's ambassador pass let them access easily. It didn't take long to find the place. It was just getting to Egypt that had taken so long. Nate had stowed away the original set of jawbone and teeth they had taken from Phil's camp in his rucksack. A tooth hadn't re-grown in the jawbone which meant that the Spartoi he and Sully had created as a diversion was still alive. This was not the best news. Phil could be using it. They needed to move quickly.

'Sorry,' Barry ambled up to Chloe and attempted to pry the wooden board and metal sandwiched around her fingers.

Chloe frowned, 'Hang on. Didn't we leave you behind already?'

'Yes, but I was bored and decided to follow you,' Barry managed to say, his face twisted in effort.

Nate turned his torch on the two and sighed. 'Let me do it,' he muttered, eager to move on, he was still worried about the impending danger of meeting Phil again. While Barry was trying to undo the mousetrap, Nate had wandered around the room. From afar the tomb looked like it hadn't seen human visitors for hundreds of years. Upon closer inspection, however, Nate noticed a few odd items. A crushed cigarette butt was lying in the dust and candy bar wrapper was squashed between a crack in the floor.

Phil was definitely here.

This was definitely not good.

Nate removed the trap in one swift movement and threw it to the floor. Barry gaped as the other man turned to him.

'Look, it's not safe. This whole situation is crap. Phil is already here, he's probably laid a trap and we will get shot at. I can't guarantee your safety…or anyone else's for that matter. It might be a good idea to just go home-,' at this point Chloe was grinning at Barry, 'and I'm talking to you too, Chloe. You're hurt. And Elena-.'

Chloe was about to make her objections, as was Barry, but they went quiet when Elena's name was said.

This was not going to go down well.

Elena put on a false smile. 'Nate, can I talk to you for a second? Alone.'

Nate gulped. Her voice had been full of forced cheer. He was going to get a lashing. He steeled his tired mind; he knew why he was doing this. He was not going put her or their child in danger. That wasn't happening. He wore the trousers in this relationship and he would stand for what he believed was best. This sounded good in his mind but Nate wondered whether he could enforce it.

As the pair went over to a corner the other three huddled together.

'Oh boy, he's in for it now,' Sully whispered, just loud enough for Nate to hear. He turned and grimaced at the group before grudgingly following Elena.

'I have to agree with him though. She is pregnant,' Chloe murmured, 'Pregnant women get excluded from everything...right now I can only think of roller coasters but the point stands.'

'You're hardly one to talk,' Sully said, 'you've been shot in the leg. And that pregnant thing is only if you're really really pregnant.'

' 'Really really pregnant' wow…that sounded scientific,' Chloe muttered, 'and anyways, haven't we been through all this before...in the jungle.'

'I wasn't there for that though,' Barry said forlornly.

The corners of Sully's mouth twitched in amusement, 'You didn't miss much kid, it ended up with Nate saying he didn't want the baby and Chloe throwing a rock at Elena's head to make things better. Funnily enough, it did work.'

If Barry weren't so strange himself, he would have questioned how throwing rocks at people's heads could possibly make anything better. 'It sounds like I missed a lot, to be honest.'

…

Elena stared daggers at Nate, who shifted uncomfortably but his resolve was there and he was going to put his foot down.

'I don't know how many times I have to tell you-.' Elena began well but Nate wasn't going to have any of it.

'I don't want you to die.'

It was said in such a way that Elena was put off her stride. He was being dead serious. Her riled up anger fizzled out faster than Kadir eating Ted's chicken, which was pretty damn fast. She couldn't even think of a comeback, something witty or sarcastic to take away the tension and the reality of it all. Any one of them could die. It was true.

Nate put his hands on her shoulders, his eyes bored into hers.

'I don't want you to die,' he repeated softly. He looked down for a moment, trying hard not to lose nerve. Whatever he was trying to say was taking a lot of effort and Elena could see that. Nate didn't quite meet her eyes but said, 'I'm scared.'

The admission, heartfelt as it was, surprised Elena. Nate's deepest emotions were always hidden away, under the heaviest of locks. Elena didn't know where the key was and hadn't even been sure if Nate himself knew. But here he was, saying something that was so unlike him. It would be heartless of her to be angry at him now that he had gone to all this effort to speak his mind but that didn't change how she felt. She would not let him face this alone. It wasn't about being a pregnant woman, it was about getting things done. Facing Phil needed more than just one person. They should be able to put aside their differences till the story is over.

'I can't imagine how hard it was to say that, but you need to understand,' Elena said quietly but forcefully, 'we are doing this together. That is what we do. Right now this is bigger than just the both of us. We are trying to save people's lives. Don't you think I feel the same way? Every time you get shot I lose sleep, and it happens way too often. But when have I ever told you to stay back. Not once have I told you to not go. I know that is who you are. There is always the worry but we just have to, well, live with it.'

Nate looked uncertain, 'But the grenade, the grenade changed everything. That was way too close. How many second chances do you get?'

Elena put her hands on top of his, 'You get one, after that it's the third chance,' she muttered.

Nate sighed and pulled her close. 'This is way too much for me to handle. I feel more emotional than you. And you're the pregnant one.'

'I'll let you get away with that one. Just this once,' Elena said.

'But seriously, at the first hint of danger, promise me you'll just play it safe,' Nate added, wondering how quickly the trousers changed pair of legs, Elena was good with words, what had he expected?, 'I haven't had a chance to get used to this baby thing, I would like for you, me and it to stay alive, so I can.'

'It's not an 'it',' Elena admonished lightly.

…

'What exactly happened here?' Sully asked, confused. Of course they had all been eavesdropping, but none of them could really figure out how they had come to a conclusion.

'Did they even sort out their differences?' Barry wondered out loud.

'They didn't even shout at each other,' Chloe said in wonder, hoping for more drama. At any other point in time, from experience, Chloe would have expected a lot of shouting and anger venting. None of that seemed to have occurred and yet they had managed to sort something out.

'This is what they must call the 'strong relationship',' Barry mused. Chloe and Sully looked over at him.

'The what?' they asked.

'Y'know, the ideal couple, start off on a rocky relationship, stuff happens, they argue and they fight and then at some point they just mellow out and their personalities complement each other. Instead of conflicts there is understanding-,' Barry was suddenly interrupted by a loud smacking sound.

Heads whipped round.

'Did Elena just slap Nate?' Sully asked.

'What was that about the 'strong relationship'?' Chloe said wryly at Barry who hung his head.

…

It took Nate a few seconds to work out what had just happened.

'You slapped me,' he said slowly. An irate Elena stood before him, eyebrow raised.

'Yes I did, because you deserved it.'

'Why?' Nate asked, nonplussed, as far as he was aware, he and Elena had been hugging and he had stepped away to say something and then, wham, slap in the face.

'Now, that I think about it, I'm not really sure,' Elena said, staring at her hand which had committed the offence, ' I think it's the hormones. I was just angry with you for being over protective all the time. You need to take it easy. We do things together now.'

As far as Nate was aware, hormones didn't usually mean a slap in the face, but then again, what did he know? He was just a lowly man in the world of pregnant women.

Returning to the group Nate tried to finish off what he had been trying to say earlier, this time without mentioning Elena's name.

'Barry, I don't know how good you are in a fight and Chloe, you've been shot in the leg, hey, don't look at me like that. I'm trying to save your life.'

Chloe grumbled something under her breath but grudgingly agreed. She could see that Nate wasn't going to budge. It grated just a little that Elena had managed to wheedle her way in to the final showdown even though she was pregnant.

'Fine, I'll wait here and be the lookout, but if I stay Barry stays. I don't think I could live with myself knowing this guy was allowed in over me,' Chloe said finally.

'Hey,' Barry said, hurt, but shrugged his shoulders in agreement just to avoid the argument that would follow.

Nate inwardly sighed with relief. There goes two more heavy weights from his conscience. He didn't think for a second that Chloe would stay put, he knew her too well for that but hopefully she wouldn't get into too much trouble. After all they had been through, Nate didn't think his hopes would really come to be.

'Right, now that we've had our little heart to hearts, what the heck are we going to do now?' Sully asked, looking around the room, which had no other doors than the one they came through.

Nate furrowed his brow and raked the ground with the beam of his torch. There must be something he was missing. There had to be a clue somewhere that would lead them to the jawbone. To be honest, Nate was hoping that he would just find the jawbone here, but obviously things couldn't be that easy. There were a few documents strewn across low tables that were placed around the edge of the room but these didn't have anything helpful on them.

While he was looking around the others spread out, also trying to find some sort of hint.

It was Barry who finally found something useful. The candy bar wrapper that was wedged in a crack was fluttering slightly, even though there was no breeze. Barry stared at this for a long time.

'Why are you staring at the ground?' Chloe asked flatly.

'That wrapper is moving,' he replied, looking rather blank. Chloe sighed. Barry was a special one. She hustled over to have a look.

Bending over painfully, Chloe plucked the wrapper out and was faintly surprised to feel a waft of air coming up from the gap.

'Huh,' she murmured, 'would you look at that.'

She called the others over, 'Hey guys, I found something.'

'Hey, I found it first,' Barry interjected, Chloe gave him a baleful look.

'Yes, but you decided to stare at it for ten minutes rather than actually do anything useful,' Chloe shot back. Maybe it was the lack of pain medication or the fact she was going to be left behind but Chloe was starting to get cranky and found the best remedy for this was to be mean to the newest member of their group.

Barry scuffed the ground with a foot.

'It was only five minutes,' he muttered.

…

Further investigation let the group of heroes to discover the trapdoor in the floor.

'Lol, that rhymed,' Barry said to himself. The others turned to him.

'Sorry, what?' Elena said.

'I was just thinking about the trapdoor in the floor and then I was like, door and floor rhyme,' Barry explained.

'Wow,' Chloe exclaimed with sarcasm. Just when she thought Barry could be ok, he goes and makes it worse for himself.

'It wasn't that that bothered me,' Sully said, 'What the hell does 'lol' mean?'

There was a moment of silence.

'Umm, well, instead of saying 'laugh out loud' young people just shorten it to 'lol'. But they don't usually say it out loud, normally it is just a written thing,' Elena explained patiently.

Sully muttered something that sounded a lot like 'young people these days' which further reinforced Nate's image of Sully as a senior citizen.

'Ok, moving on swiftly...Chloe and Barry, you guys stay here, if we don't come back then...,' Nate trailed off into silence, if they didn't come back it probably meant they were all dead, '...uh, go get help, or something.

Chloe raised an eyebrow, 'That's all fine and dandy, but how are you even going to get down from here. There isn't even a ladder.'

Nate peered into the hole where the sound of rushing water could be heard. 'I hadn't thought about that.'

Barry excused himself and scrambled back up to the surface.

'Did he just bolt on us?' Sully asked, amused.

'I think so,' Nate said, watching the dust settle.

'I _hope _so,' Chloe grumbled but she had the feeling things weren't going to be so easy.

Soon enough, Barry returned with a length of rope. 'Sorry guys, I needed the toilet and I remembered that there was some spare rope in the car boot.'

'What were the chances of that happening?' Sully dared ask.

'I swear most of what we do is based on the smallest of chances,' Chloe said, watching bemused as Nate tied the rope onto something solid. When this was done, he stepped back and looked at everyone.

'Well, this is it,' he said, trying to think of something manly and courageous to say, unfortunately nothing sprang to mind. Nobody else seemed to have much faith in his speeches either, Sully had already slid down the rope and Elena was preparing to do the same. 'Hey, wasn't anyone listening?'

Chloe and Barry raised their hands, 'We were, on the account that we had nothing better to do...like saving the world.'

Nate scowled at them but Chloe sobered. 'Be careful, Nate.'

He nodded and turned around. With a final, 'Here we go,' Nate took hold of the rope and slid down into the darkness.

* * *

**Nothing really happened here…sorry…and it was well short…it is coming to an end now though…I don't like writing mush...because I can't...it all sounds very cliche and I cringe at it...but please put up with it for a little longer...thanks  
**

**By the time I put this up I have already written some of the next chapter…so fingers crossed…**

**I had trouble finding inspiration to finish this story...I listened to both soundtracks...played the story modes on the games and nothing was really working...then my brother downloaded the trailers to the new game and that helped...a lot...I think that's why there was such a big gap between the last chapter and the one before that...  
**

**When I first started writing this chapter the Uncharted multiplayer beta had just come out…and as per usual I am so late in my updating that its finished…I was going to tell you guys to all go and download it because it was fun…more fun than reading this I'm sure…I hope you all got a chance to play…I didn't get to play much because the week it was out was literally the week when I was away…sad times…**

**Thanks for reading…gracias… the only Spanish I probably will ever know lol **

**Now for a terrible joke: Why did the Mexican push his wife off a cliff? Tequila Tequila….(It's meant to sound like to-kill-her to-kill-her…in a bad accent…just in case you didn't know)**

**I can't even remember where I heard that lol…if you have any better ones please tell me…**


	22. Scream

**The wedding in Canada was in a place called London…they even had a river Thames…**

**I tried to write this as quickly as I could…please excuse any mistakes...as I read this over I am eating a green apple...they are the best type of apple  
**

**In the last chapter Nate, Elena and Sully went through the trap door to confront Phil…**

* * *

Chapter 21

Barry stood and stretched. Chloe glanced at her watch.

'So, we going to follow them now?'

Chloe managed a weak smile, the sort of smile that said I-would-never-trust-you-with-my-life-but-it-seems-you're-all-the-help-I'm-gonna-get.

'Yes, but do what I tell you, otherwise we'll both end up dead.'

…

Upon hitting the slippery stone floor, Nate realised how far down they actually were. He could barely make out the trapdoor above. The torch tucked into his belt barely lit the area with its meagre beam. Ahead, Sully had found a sort of pathway and was now following it precariously, careful not to slip into the watery depths below.

The trapdoor revealed a cavernous chamber that led to a roughly hewn platform. It was nothing more than a strip of rock cut into the wall, the other side gave way to the rushing water and this was even further down than the outcrop. At any rate, it was an acrophobic's worst nightmare.

'What the hell is an acrophobic?' Sully asked, his voice barely audible over the sound of rushing water. Nate wondered if the thundering of the rapids made him shout his own thoughts out loud just so he could hear himself think.

'It's someone who is afraid of heights,' Elena managed to bellow back.

Conversation was at an all time low as the group struggled forwards. After some time the sheer rock wall fell back, the path widened and ended. They had reached a clearing. The edge closest to the water had some rotting wood attached which turned out to be an age old set of stairs that led to the water. If anyone could actually survive the rapids, it would have been an excellent escape route.

Elena peered at the staircase with wary eyes. She had nothing against heights but just looking at them made them fall apart. She hoped they wouldn't have to use them. Wooden structures never fared well when they had used them before.

As if reading her mind, Nate spoke, 'I don't think we have to go down there, it just leads to the water, the robbers must have used it as an escape route.'

Sully spat and watched as his own addition fell into the water, 'If their escape was suicide then it's fine. How were they supposed to survive that?'

Nate shrugged, 'I guess modernisation happened. Sewers and dams were built, it must have altered the speed of water flow over time.'

The three turned their backs to the edge and stared across the flat expanse of stone before them. There were three tunnels hacked into the far wall.

'Great, they always give us a choice on where to go. Why couldn't it be easy for once?' Sully grumbled.

Nate was worrying about which tunnel led to Phil, 'I don't think we should split up.'

Elena gave him the look, he held up his hands in defence, 'Hey, I'm being serious. If we come up against any...resistance...then being together is better.'

Elena shrugged, to be honest, wandering around a mangy tunnel on her own didn't sound that fun really.

The group headed towards the tunnels and stopped just short off the middle one.

'So...which tunnel?' Sully asked, shining his torch into the gloom. It didn't help much.

Nate rubbed his chin. He supposed the robbers had stolen the jaws from Uganda and subsequently released a Spartoi which chased them all down and killed them. One of the jawbones and sets of teeth were dropped in Uganda and the other must have been transported here.

The Spartoi would have followed them. Nate hadn't figured out the rest of the story yet. Did the robbers get away using the water, or do their bodies lie down one of these tunnels? If the robbers were dead, then the Spartoi might just be still here, roaming around. That didn't sound great. If the robbers got away to another location then the Spartoi would have followed, which meant he wouldn't be here. This was the nicer option Nate decided. If the robbers had moved on then there must be a clue as to where they went. The only thing to do was to search every tunnel.

'You've been thinking for an awful long time,' Sully said after a while. Nate blinked as if he had just come to.

'Sorry, I was just trying to make sense of things,' he replied and relayed his thoughts to the others.

'I don't like the sound of a Spartoi just wandering around,' Sully commented. The others agreed silently. Nate didn't mention the fact that Phil had probably bought his along too. No need to get panicky now.

'Ok, this is the plan,' Nate began, ' we go down each tunnel and look for clues to what happened here. If the robbers got away there must be clues about where they went. We need to find them.'

'What about Phil?' Elena asked. Nate sighed.

'He's probably set a trap somewhere and I doubt we can avoid it. We just have to be careful,' Nate said, he pointed to the tunnel on the far right, 'We'll do this one first.'

The darkness here was different. It was thicker, pressing at them from all sides. Even the water sounded muffled as soon as they had taken the first few steps.

Like a gunshot in the night, there was a sudden crunching sound. Somebody screamed.

The three heroes swivelled around.

'What the heck was that?' Sully asked, gasping for air. His heart had nearly given out.

Nate pointed the beam of his torch downwards, he had stepped on something. Something that had an unique white gleam to it. He had seen it many times before. It was bone. He had stepped on a skeleton.

'Eww,' Elena said, scrunching her face up 'is it one of the robbers?'

Nate crouched down to get a better look, 'Yeah, I think so, his skull is facing the wrong way, like it was twisted.'

As far as Nate could tell the skeleton hadn't been disturbed, but it was now sporting a shattered hand, courtesy of his careless walking. This didn't mean that Phil hadn't found it first. The body had no clues and it was possible that Phil had already stripped the body of anything useful.

The group decided to press on.

'By the way, who screamed?' Elena asked.

Nate paused, he looked confused. 'I thought it was you.'

Elena shook her head. 'It wasn't me.'

'It definitely wasn't me,' Nate said adamantly. He was a manly man and screaming wasn't something he could do. The two turned to Sully, eyebrows raised.

'Hey don't look at me, seriously, I could never achieve such high notes,' Sully defended himself.

'Well, it definitely wasn't the skeleton,' Nate muttered. There was silence, the trio exchanged uneasy glances.

'Well, I don't _think _it was the skeleton,' Nate said again.

'You don't know that,' Sully replied irrationally 'you stepped on his hand. It must have been shocking to him.'

'Sully, he's dead,' Elena said flatly. She was not going to entertain any notions that the skeleton was alive. She had enough on her plate as it was. There was no room for talking skeletons.

It was wasting precious time but they went back to the skeleton just to check. Nate thought of the German zombies from his first adventure. A talking skeleton might not be such a weird thing after all.

Elena caught the expression on his face, 'Oh no, not you too, guys, I am sure there is a logical explanation,' the two men looked at her and she faltered, 'ok, maybe it was Chloe and Barry following us. Maybe one of them screamed.'

This seemed plausible. The three shone their torch beams back up the tunnel. Nothing moved.

'Chloe? Barry? Are you guys there?' Elena called their names, but no one replied.

'If they were there, they would have shown themselves,' Nate said. Elena agreed.

Sully nudged the skull with a boot. Nothing happened.

'Ok, I'm convinced,' he said and turned around.

'Wait you hardly touched it, maybe I have to step on it again,' Nate said.

'Do you have any respect for the dead?' Elena asked.

'Yes, for the dead who don't scream,' Nate muttered and applied pressure to the hand. There was a crack but no scream.

There were obvious signs of relief.

'I can't believe we thought the skeleton screamed,' Nate said with laughter.

Sully didn't seem to share the humour and looked at them, 'Seriously, who screamed?'

…

As soon as Barry opened his mouth, Chloe knew they were in trouble.

Honestly, why did she get lumbered with the inept ones?

It just wasn't funny anymore.

She grabbed the man by the shoulders and shoved him into the tunnel wall, a hand pressed firmly against his mouth.

'I told you to be silent!' she hissed. Barry looked very scared. Scared enough that Chloe feared for the cleanliness of his underwear.

A couple minutes later, Chloe let him go. The others had moved on.

'But it was so sudden,' Barry whispered loudly.

Chloe and Barry had managed to stay fairly close to Nate and the others without being seen. The darkness helped. Barry was on edge, for all his talk, Chloe doubted he could handle this. The crack of bone had been the final straw. He had screamed. Loudly.

The plan had been to follow Nate and the others then, if they reached the end and turned back, Chloe and Barry would just hustle out quickly.

Chloe had heard snippets of conversation about a skeleton, but didn't want to give themselves away by turning on her torch and decided she could just live without seeing another skeleton. They would just have to be careful not to step on it.

She was just about there when she heard Nate and the others coming back. Cursing under her breath Chloe retreated with Barry, trying tried to sink further into the gloom.

Chloe back-pedalled into the something. Something soft.

Hands grabbed her and Barry before they could make a run for it. Gags were hastily wrapped. As they were carried away Chloe thought she heard Elena call their names.

Oh dear.

…

The tunnel ended prematurely with giant boulders blocking the way. It looked like there had been a cave-in years ago.

Nate grunted in frustration and turned back.

'We'll try the next tunnel,' he said to the others.

They realised something was wrong when they passed the skeleton, they could see a light up ahead at the cave entrance.

Elena wanted it to be Chloe but she didn't think it would be so. The light was so bright that they didn't even need their torches any more.

'Phil?' she asked, already knowing the answer.

'Yeah,' Nate said, he was holding his gun but it probably wasn't going to make a difference. Might as well do this like a man, he thought tiredly.

He looked over at Sully and Elena, both looking determined. They were not going down without a fight. Nate drew little comfort this. It struck him that he didn't enjoy these moments like he used to. The heart stopping moments, when you didn't know if you were going to die or not, the nail biting experiences he was about to endure. He felt detached from it all. Nate wasn't sure if he liked this feeling or not.

'Let's do this,' he said with as much courage as he could muster.

…

Phil was a happy man.

The trap was going swimmingly. He had two hostages and was just about to capture the elusive Nathan Drake. Oh, yes, things were looking up for Phil.

He ran a tight ship. After Nate and the others had gone down the first tunnel, it hadn't taken long for his teams to get into position. The halogen lamps had been set up and soon the whole area had been illuminated.

He turned to his captives. Chloe and Barry had been tied to some chairs, standard procedure.

'You ready?' he asked them.

Chloe ignored him and Barry was staring at him.

'You look familiar...,' Barry said, as if the name he was looking for was on the tip of his tongue.

Phil rolled his eyes, 'Yes, yes, I am the man from the weight loss adverts.'

Barry wrinkled his nose, 'No, I don't think it was that, I mean you're really fa-.'

Phil pulled the hammer back on his gun. It clicked into position menacingly. Barry stopped talking. Chloe was glad he did. She wasn't exactly fond of Barry but she certainly didn't want him dead. More troubling was that Chloe hadn't seen him yet. The face she had been looking for upon their capture. Where was he?

Barry interrupted her thoughts, 'Hah! That's it, I think you were at one of my dad's dinner parties. Years ago...'

Chloe listened to Barry explain a story in which Phil appeared to a dinner party and ate everything in sight, she would have found it humorous if they hadn't been tied to chairs and about to die.

Phil scowled at Barry and then nodded to one of his henchmen. Barry was promptly decked in the face.

Blood tricked from the corner of his mouth, 'Wow, this guy is a real douche,' Barry said.

Chloe silently agreed.

The attention shifted from them when there was a flurry of activity at the tunnel entrance which Nate and the others had gone down.

'Oh, goody,' Phil rubbed his hands together in glee, 'you guys get front seats.'

The men in front of Barry and Chloe parted and they were able to see what was happening.

Even though they were surrounded by dozens of men they still looked ready for a fight, Chloe thought to herself, they still hadn't given up. She admired them for it.

Nate, Elena and Sully stood at the mouth of the cave, armed men spread in a semi-circle in front of them. It wasn't going to be easy to get out of this one.

Elena noticed Chloe and Barry first, she looked relieved to see that they were still alive. Chloe wondered for how much longer.

'So, Nathan Drake, we meet again,' Phil began.

'That was the lamest villain dialogue I've ever heard,' Barry whispered to Chloe.

'I know, he's got books of the stuff, prepare to cringe,' she replied.

Nate frowned and searched the faces of the people present. The one he wanted wasn't there. Huh.

There was nothing to do, he had to ask. 'Before you bore me with your cliché evil man speech, where is Ted?'

Instead of getting annoyed, Phil grinned, Nate got a sinking sensation in his stomach. This was not a good sign.

'Ted is dead.'

Barry snorted, 'That rhymed.'

Chloe glared daggers at the man sitting next to her. He sobered up quickly. Chloe stared at the men again. This could not be true. Dead? The good people don't die on adventures. They live and sail off into the sunset till the next adventure. They did not die.

'Dead?' Nate echoed hollowly, he felt a little numb.

'Yes,' Phil said, enjoying the moment, 'He fell from the trap door into the water. Nobody could survive that.'

Nate didn't doubt him for a second.

Chloe listened to the words mutely. She thought she should feel more than this upon learning of Ted's death. It was an empty feeling, as if it hadn't quite hit her that she wasn't going to see him again. To be honest it looked like Elena was taking it worse than she was. Chloe was sure that she saw some tears in her eyes. Maybe it was the hormones.

Dead, there was no coming back from that one. Chloe didn't like how the men in her life seemed to die on her. Harry and now Ted. She hadn't really known what she wanted in life but she was pretty sure it had nothing to do with men dying around her. Although, people rarely get what they want.

Chloe tried to tell herself that she was better off alone. It wasn't really working though.

Barry caught the expression on her face, 'I'm sorry,' he said quietly.

Chloe sighed, 'It's ok, it doesn't really matter. We'll leave all the emotional stuff for later, when we're not about to be killed.'

'I'll hold you to it,' Barry said turning back to Phil.

'Anyways,' Phil continued, 'I want you to know that I don't plan to kill you even if you did run away and blow my camp up. Aren't I nice?'

'A real peach,' Sully muttered sarcastically. Nate nearly smiled.

'What are down the other tunnels?' Nate asked.

'The middle one was a store room and the one on the left has a Spartoi,' Phil said casually.

'Sorry, what?' Sully stuck a finger in his ear, as if he hadn't heard right.

'Yes, old man, I said Spartoi,' Phil repeated. Sully looked more shocked at being called an old man than confirming that it was a Spartoi.

Nate paled, 'Is it your one, the one from the camp?'

Phil looked at him and waved some papers, 'Yes, I had it transported it here so I could set it loose on you when you had translated these documents. The tunnel had a dead end, it looked like another cave in, we trapped the Spartoi in there.'

'You just said you weren't going to kill us,' Elena said. Phil wagged a finger.

'Maybe the Spartoi won't kill you, maybe you will just lose a few limbs,' he followed this with a sadistic chuckle.

Nate interrupted his moment with another question, 'Were there any more skeletons?'

Phil looked uninterested, as if he was wasting his time answering these questions, 'Yeah, why?'

The sinking feeling returned, if the men were dead then that meant there a good chance the Spartoi had hung around, especially if he couldn't get back to the surface again. The cave-ins...maybe they were done purposely...to trap the Spartoi they had unleashed on themselves.

Nate was on fire now, his mind connecting dots, the story was beginning to take shape. The trap had failed once but maybe the second time it worked and behind one of the piles of rubble was a Spartoi hundreds of years old, waiting to be set free,

Phil frowned, 'You look like you're planning something. I don't like it.' He motioned to one of his men, who approached Nate cautiously. Before he could do anything untoward, Nate spoke.

'Let me look at those documents.'

Phil held them back like a petulant child. 'Not until you tell me what you were thinking.'

Nate didn't have time for this, 'Fine, the tomb robbers wanted to test if the jaw bone and teeth were real so they planted a tooth and a Spartoi appeared. It looked at the people who created it and murdered them one by one. It followed them to Egypt where it killed them here too, here in this cave, but some of them must have survived, they trapped the Spartoi in the tunnels using cave-ins. The first time it didn't work, so they used another tunnel.'

Phil was quiet, 'So you're saying that the Spartoi is still here, alive, from all those years ago.'

Nate nodded. There wasn't a lot of evidence for this, but it sounded plausible.

'This sounds farfetched,' Phil said. 'It could have broken out by now. Gone somewhere else.'

'I don't think it could leave, the wooden stairs wouldn't have been able to support it, I think it probably dropped down in the first place,' Nate explained, he was spending too much time talking and not enough time getting the hell out of there.

'Which tunnel is it in?' Phil asked dumbly.

Nate shrugged, 'I don't know.'

'Well it doesn't matter, with any luck they'll just stay trapped for a little longer, it's not like there are going to be any explosions to dislodge the rocks,' Phil said.

There was a sudden quiet, as if Phil was daring anyone to doubt him.

No one did.

As if on cue an explosion occurred.

* * *

**Once again, not much happened but it was enough…slowly but surely the end is coming…thank goodness**

**I have no idea what to call this chapter lol  
**

**I've noticed my chapters are getting shorter lol…**

**Skeletons definitely do not scream...  
**

**Cheers to everyone who reads this and has put it in their favourites or alert list, people are still doing it…it makes me happy…even you regular readers…it means a lot **


	23. Oh My Gosh

**While watching an old episode of NCIS on TV I thought I heard Chloe's voice, I turned quickly and lo behold...it was Claudia Black (Chloe Frazer's voice) playing a biker woman...fun times...**

**Spain was well good...the architecture is the same as the first Uncharted game...it is a little bit sad that I went all the way there and was reminded of a video game...oh well...at any rate it was very beautiful...**

**I hung some clothes out to dry the other day and when I collected them they were really...crispy...**

**Reading back a couple of chapters I noticed that Usher and Justin feature in this story...I wonder why I did that...now I have to fit them into the story lol**

* * *

Chapter 22

_Present day_

'Oh my gosh.'

The heavily synthesised voice rang through the room. The detective stared at the man who had just uttered these words and frowned. He wondered what sort of man carried a pocket voice changer around with them. Flicking his eyes to the incident form, obviously men called Usher did.

Dressed in black with matching shades, R'N'B hit sensation Usher sat, legs crossed, patiently repeating the story about his plane being stolen.

This wasn't what troubled the detective most. No, what made Detective Steven Roy uncomfortable was the man's companion. Sitting sullenly in his chair, the white kid who looked to be around thirteen raised many questions.

Why wasn't he at school? Why was he hanging around with a grown man called Usher? It definitely was not normal.

He understood that this man he had never seen or heard of before was meant to be some sort of pop star but that didn't explain why he had a kid with him. The man caught himself wishing that he had been born twenty years later so he could understand the modern world. Sure, some stars had a pet chimp but it was a big leap to having a kid as your accessory.

'Uh, yes, so Mr...Usher...when did you last see your plane?' the detective asked tiredly, trying to make sense of the situation.

'Like I said, I got my man Justin a G6, because it was his birthday. We rolled up to the hanger and then I was like-.'

The detective braced himself when he saw Usher lift the synthesiser to his lips.

'Oh my gosh.'

The detective barely suppressed his groan.

'Ok, does the plane have a GPS tracker?' Roy asked.

Usher nodded, 'I don't go cheap on my Justin.'

Roy wondered who Justin was but left that for another time, 'Ok, if you give us the information, we'll spread the word. Although, if they have left the United States then it may take some time and depending what happens, I can't guarantee you'll get it back in one piece.'

Usher peered over the top of his glasses, 'Fine, my boy Jay will give you the details.'

The singer stood and shook hands with the detective and headed for the door.

The boy got up too and Roy thought he should say something.

'Hey, kid, you were really patient there, you want a lollipop?'

...

Once outside, Usher waved to one his various body guards. He asked for a phone.

'Who are you calling?' Justin asked.

'I am calling the my private police, they will get your plane back for sure,' Usher explained.

'You have your own private police?'

'We all do and one day so will you.'

…

Chloe couldn't squash down the growing sense of impatience that fluttered in her mind. Of all the vehicles he could have procured why did Ted have to get a bloody helicopter? There had to have been something faster.

As if sensing something was wrong, Ted turned to her and apologised.

'What was that for?' Chloe asked, confused.

'Well, you had that look on your face, so I figured I had done something wrong and now I am apologising,' Ted explained amiably. Chloe shot him a look. If he was apologising he should wipe that silly smile off his face. She sighed.

'It's not you...it's just this whole situation. I feel like we're going nowhere. Where are we even?' Chloe vented.

Ted flicked some switches and fiddled with the on-board GPS. 'Just over France.'

Chloe blew air through her teeth, 'That's not even close is it?'

Ted shook his head, 'We still have a fair way to go.'

'I'm not so good with this feeling stuff, but I am really worried about Elena,' Chloe murmured. 'She's all alone, and I don't even know where the hell Nate is.'

Ted looked at her, 'It will be ok.'

'How do you know?'

'I don't, it just has to,' Ted said quietly, 'the alternative doesn't bare thinking about.'

Chloe lapsed into silence.

'You know, some time back, I went to see my niece,' Ted began.

Chloe wondered where this conversation was going. 'What happened?'

'She screamed and refused to see me,' Ted said, there was a smile on his scarred face but it held little emotion.

'Oh,' Chloe said, unsure about what to say. She hadn't had to deal with all these emotions before. It was exhausting. Chloe wondered how normal people did it. 'Was it because of the...y'know...the face? Because I totally understand.'

The action of Chloe gesturing at his face and whispering the last part made Ted smile, this time with real warmth. This made Chloe feel a little better, at least she was on the right track.

'Did she agree to see you in the end?' Chloe asked.

'Not yet,' Ted replied, 'But there's still hope. The scars won't go away, but maybe she will get used to them.'

Chloe admired his optimism. She supposed if he could do it wouldn't be so bad to try it out herself. But then again, being pessimistic was her default setting. Chloe had lived through enough life threatening scenarios to know that it wouldn't always work out how you wanted it to.

'Anyway,' Ted continued, 'that wasn't all I wanted to say. There was a reason I came to London.'

Chloe had a sinking feeling in her stomach, she had a feeling she knew where this was going.

'Uh, after the whole niece thing, I did a lot of thinking and you came up...quite a lot actually...and I looked you up in London so I could tell you.'

Chloe wanted to melt into her seat. She didn't want to boast or anything but this had happened a few times before and it always made her feel incredibly uncomfortable. It had always ended the same way too, a quick rejection and an even speedier escape. Except this time, she was in a helicopter...nowhere to run or hide.

'Please,' she said quickly, 'don't say another word.'

Ted stopped, puzzled, 'What, why? You don't even know what I was going to say.'

Chloe rolled her eyes. Ted was no different from the other men. They all went about it the same way. It was freaky. It was as if they had all had a seminar on how to have this particular conversation and made a set of guidelines.

'I think I do and I just want you to know that-,' Chloe didn't get to finish, as if sensing what she was going to say, Ted butt in.

'Wait, the least you can do is hear me out,' he said, 'I don't care if the I don't get the answer I want, I just want to say it. I didn't even bring the poem I wrote.'

'Oh my God! You wrote a poem?' Chloe asked horrified. Ted grinned.

'No, I didn't but your reaction was hilarious,' he said and adjusted his head-set.

Chloe gave him the death stare but the happy go lucky Ted was immune.

'This is hardly the time or place,' she grumbled and Ted sighed.

'I know, but it doesn't look like there will ever be a time or place,' he said.

Chloe rubbed her forehead. As much as she liked Ted, she had no idea if that meant she could do the whole long term relationship thing. One part of her said that there was no harm in trying, another said that she wasn't getting any younger and should just settle for any man who came along, other parts wanted Chloe to know that she had lived her life alone and it hadn't done her any harm so far.

Ted seemed eager to lend a hand, ' You know, you're no spring chicken. There wouldn't be any harm in just settling for me.'

'Cheers,' Chloe said sarcastically, thinking about Nate and Elena, 'If I was going to settle for anyone, it would be someone who I honestly had a connection with, whatever that may be.'

Ted was having fun, 'Hmm, that's quite deep. Sounds like you're waiting for true love.'

'Hey, lets be taking it easy with the 'l' word,' Chloe said quickly, how had love gotten into the conversation? Love was strictly for the fairy-tales. There was no need to be bandying that word about.

'There is nothing wrong with the word 'love',' Ted said, smiling at Chloe's disgusted look.

'Whatever,' Chloe huffed, irritated, 'I don't believe in all that fluffy crap.'

While he had never heard it called 'fluffy crap', Ted could understand why she thought that. It was the type of person Chloe was, unless she could see it, love might as well be in the realm of ghosts and spirits. Somehow he would change her mind, but it would have to wait.

He gave Chloe a long hard stare which made her wonder if there was something on her face.

'Something wrong?' she asked uneasily. She didn't like the way he was looking at her. She could almost see the cogs turning in his head.

'I'll make a deal with you,' Ted said finally, 'I won't ask about feelings till after this Elena situation, but after that I think I have earned at least a bit of your time. Maybe by then you will have figured it out.'

Chloe wondered how Ted could be so rational and then she frowned, 'Figure what out?'

Ted just smiled, 'Nothing.'

'Hey, tell me.'

Ted was saved from answering when his satellite phone started to ring. He routed it through the radio so he could receive the call using his head-set.

Chloe watched as Ted's face went through a strange mix of expressions. She was still annoyed with him but for now she was safe from any more awkwardness. Chloe knew she was being a coward rather than confronting the ongoing issue but that there were more important things at hand here. Elena needed her and here she was ten thousand feet in the air, pondering her love life.

Ted finished his call and craned his neck upwards, his eyes scanning the sky.

'What are you doing?' Chloe asked, looking too.

'I work for the pop star Usher now,' Ted explained, 'he's just asked me to get his stolen plane back.'

Chloe digested this slowly, 'Wow,' was all she could come up with.

'I told him I was doing some personal stuff, but he gave me the GPS info and as it happens the plane is somewhere here, I can't not look into it,' Ted said, still looking above them. His eyes were tracking a grey blob in the distance.

'Do they have a radio?' Chloe asked, Ted relayed the frequency and she tuned it in.

Ted tried to make contact.

Neither of them were quite ready for the familiar voice that greeted them.

…

Nate stared out the window quietly. Ignoring the warnings about volcano ash disrupting the plane's engines, the three men had continued on their journey, aiming to get as close to Turkey as possible.

Sully watched, he was worried but didn't say anything. Over the journey, Nate had lapsed into a silence, mulling over thoughts that Sully didn't even want to comprehend. Even Miguel had grasped the gravity of the situation and was in a subdued mood. It wasn't quite the right time to be silly.

'Do you guys want anything from the mini bar,' Sully asked.

Nate didn't respond but Miguel followed Sully to the small kitchenette behind the cabin.

'He really isn't doing well,' Miguel said quietly.

Sully drank straight from the bottle of expensive whisky he had found, 'I know, but there isn't much we can do.'

Miguel agreed silently, 'Do you think if I sing a song it will make things better?'

'No, it definitely won't,' Sully said quickly. Miguel looked a little put out.

They returned to the cabin to find that Nate hadn't moved an inch.

Sully put a hand on his shoulder, 'Hey, kid, you should have something to drink.'

Nate blinked and let out a deep sigh. 'Thanks,' he said, accepting the bottle of water Sully had brought him.

'Nate, you gotta hang in there,' Sully said, 'you know we're here for you.'

Nate nodded, he gave Sully a grateful smile, 'I know, I know. This is just too much,' he said, 'I don't know what to do. I hate it.'

Sully didn't know how to respond to his friend's anguish.

Before he could attempt to say anything, the radio light flashed, indicating that someone was trying to hail them.

All three of them picked up a set headphones. Nate recognised the voice immediately.

'Ted?' Nate said, very confused.

There was a moment's static.

'_Err, Nate? That you?'_

'Yeah, what's going on?' Nate replied, still trying to make sense this recent turn of events. Sully was silently relieved, at least it took his mind off other things.

'_Did you by chance happen to steal this plane from a man called Usher? Because that is his plane and he kinda wants it back.'_

Nate and Sully shot Miguel a look. The man shrugged.

'I told them to steal it,' Miguel explained, 'It was the only way, no airlines were flying to Europe.'

'_I should have known,_' a new voice said.

'Chloe?' Nate asked.

'_Yes,_' came the reply, '_I can't believe you got on a plane with that man, knowing what he did last time.'_

Miguel looked hurt.

'Desperate times,' Sully said seriously, 'calls for desperate measures.'

Sully half smiled.

He had always wanted to say that line.

…

Chloe's eyes widened with shock when she had heard the pilot's voice. They had taken him with them? She wondered about how wise that decision was, but then again, he had got them a plane, even if it was somebody else's.

Ted explained the situation, stating that he wasn't going to tell Usher about the plane and that they should all continue as they were.

This was a good enough plan but it didn't take long before Chloe noticed something was wrong. She touched Ted's arm.

'The plane,' she said, 'it's descending...rather quickly.'

Ted had to agree, the plane had been much higher than they were, more than double, but it was getting bigger and bigger.

In a surreal, slow motion the tip of plane angled downwards and the two of them watched as the Gulfstream took a nose dive.

Ted swore and they both tried the radio.

They couldn't get through.

…

Miguel stared at the control panel. Lights were flashing. He knew what it meant but asked just to double check.

Nate looked at him grumpily, he was trying to listen to Ted.

'Yes, Miguel, that light flashing there means the engines are failing,' Nate said wearily and turned back to the controls.

Miguel waited a beat.

Nate froze. His face paled.

'Holy crap!' Sully summed up the group's feelings, he too had his attention attracted by the flashing lights.

The plane too, seemed to have realised that it had lost stable power and was now descending rapidly, bucking and swaying with the air.

Nate wrestled with the controls, more angry than afraid. He had come this far, he wasn't about to go and die now. That was not happening. He would get to Elena and their son would be healthy and they would be a bloody happy family. That was all he wanted right now. To be a family. When he was done getting to his family he promised himself no more getting caught in crappy situations where his death was more than likely.

Sully threw open cupboard doors in search of parachutes. Luckily for him, Usher didn't go cheap on his boy Justin and had paid extra for a set of parachutes, even though one of them was child's size.

'Talk to me, Nate,' Sully said, trying to be calm, but failing miserably.

'I think we're screwed,' Nate said grimly.

Miguel had stuffed his pockets with most of the contents of the mini bar. Sully raised an eyebrow.

'You sure you got your priorities straight?' he asked the other man. Miguel looked grim.

'When I survive this, I am going to need a drink, a lot of drink,' he explained and Sully liked the man a little more.

Nate distributed the parachutes.

'Hey, why do I have to have the child's one?' Miguel complained. Nate frowned, their plane was going down, the man should be happy he was even getting a parachute. There had been times when they had to do without.

'You could just jump without it,' Sully muttered, tightening the harness. Miguel grumbled but did the same.

Nate was still struggling with the controls, trying to level the plane out and slow their descent. It wasn't working though and as the earth below became steadily more detailed, Nate gave up and shrugged the parachute on.

Sully forced the door open, a gust of air swirled through the cabin space.

All three men jumped.

…

Chloe and Ted watched the Gulfstream G650 plummet to ground. The crash was spectacular. A fiery inferno that probably scared the nearby sheep poop-less.

'I think you may have just lost your job,' Chloe said after a while.

'Story of my life,' Ted grunted, wondering why he hadn't just become an accountant.

...

Nate opened his eyes. He was exhausted. They had been flying non stop. He wasn't surprised to see he had fallen asleep.

Wait, this didn't feel like the cushioned leather recliner he had relaxed on earlier.

It occurred to Nate that he might not even be on the plane. Blinking in the bright sunlight, he took stock of his surroundings.

He was hanging from a tree, suspended from the ground by the parachute, which was tangled in the branches. Apart from a nasty bump on his head, Nate found that he didn't have injuries and released the clasp that held him in the air.

He dropped like a sack of potatoes. Heavily and with little grace.

Hearing someone wince he looked up. Sully was leaning on a wooden fence, sipping from a tiny bottle of gin. He grinned.

'You ok?'

Nate stumbled over and took a similar sized bottle of alcohol from the man's outstretched hand. He finished it in one go.

'Now I am,' he said hoarsely, 'Where's Miguel?'

'Helping Ted find a spot to land,' Sully explained. Nate rubbed an aching shoulder.

'Is that wise?'

Sully shrugged, 'It gives him something to do. You were out for a while.'

'And none of you thought about getting me down?' Nate said.

Sully looked guilty, 'Hey, I was busy...hydrating...and to be honest,' he added in a whisper, 'I don't think I could get you down...I feel like my back's gonna give out any second.'

The beginnings of a smile tugged at the corner of Nate's mouth, and then as quickly as it had come it disappeared. Replaced with a concerned expression.

'Uh, don't you think we've gathered too much attention,' he said, looking around.

Sully caught his meaning, 'They don't mean us any harm. They're only sheep.'

'I don't like the way they're looking at me; they look hungry,' Nate said, backing away from the cluster of woolly farm animals that had gathered by the tree where Nate had been unconscious.

The plan had been to get to Turkey as soon as possible. Crashing their fastest mode of transport and being eaten by sheep was not in the itinerary. Nate watched the clouds roll by.

He wondered how Elena was.

He wondered how their son was.

It couldn't quite be described in words how badly he wanted to be there.

Nate was missing his son's life and he couldn't quite shake the feeling that it was going to be a short one.

...

When Elena woke, it was to the same silence she had fallen asleep to. Her eyes, red-rimmed and dry were sore as she wiped a hand over them.

A quick glimpse at the window told her it was morning. She had been asleep for a long time. Confined and alone.

She had heard nothing from Nate and she hoped this meant he was on a plane somewhere. Gritting her teeth, she sighed. She hated being this weak but it was so hard.

Elena turned her head and froze.

Any remaining colour in her features disappeared instantly for the small plastic box which separated her from her son was empty.

The baby was gone.

Elena's head swivelled wildly. She had to find somebody. What had happened?

A nurse entered the room, full of sorrow and her face ashen. Elena baulked, wishing with every fibre of her being that the nurse would leave and take her bad news with her. She had just gotten the wrong room is all.

No such luck.

The nurse stopped in front of Elena's chair.

* * *

**I have noticed in these chapters that take place in the present, I tend to shove Elena in at the end and she always gets some sort of new shock...poor her**

**Sheep are well good...**

**Oh my gosh...every time he says that it's meant to sound like the first time he says it in his song...**

**Thanks for reading and all that...this chapter went nowhere...again...lol...**


	24. Confusion

**It is too warm to sleep at night...**

**Thanks for the continued support and reviews...it means a lot..seriously...you guys are awesomeness...on a stick...with a side of mango sorbet...You might not think this is great but I really like mangos...just like Miguel...sorry…Miguel likes mongos….did you guys remember?…If you don't then I don't blame you…it was ages ago...I found it by looking at earlier chapters…**

**I realised that Nate hadn't tried to get in touch with Elena once while trying to get to Turkey..whoops...**

**In the last chapter Ted failed to recover Usher's plane and Nate, Sully and Miguel were surrounded by sheep, finally, Elena loses the baby...as in she can't find it...he's not dead...that would be well out of order...lol...an off-screen death...anyways...I am getting sidetracked...as usual**

* * *

Chapter 23

_Present day_

Elena was confused.

The words were repeated but their meaning hadn't quite sunk in yet.

The nurse looked at Elena sympathetically but she barely registered the concern.

'Late last night, the baby stopped breathing and we rushed him to an operating room,' the nurse explained for what must have been the third time. 'We couldn't wake you but the operation went well and we were expecting to see significant improvements.'

'_Were_,' Elena said, almost inaudibly. This was as far as she had heard from the nurse before her brain had kicked in and blocked the sound. If the nurse was telling her that the baby had died then she didn't want to hear. She couldn't bare that now. Not without Nate. She was not strong enough.

The nurse looked at floor for a moment, as if the hard part was about to come and what Elena had heard was nothing but the first act.

'The baby was placed in ICU a few corridors away. He was checked on regularly...'

Elena could sense a massive 'but'.

'But..'

Elena closed her eyes, steeling herself for whatever the news may be.

'But, the baby disappeared.'

Elena's eyelids flew open. 'What?'

…

Even with the added passengers, the helicopter hadn't lost speed, but to Nate this seemed a snail's pace.

Such was his mood, that Ted was secretly wondering if he could find something quicker and was scanning the land below frequently.

To try and take the edge of things, Ted suggested to Nate that he try to ring the hospital where Elena was using the satellite phone.

Nate's fingers stumbled as he punched the number in. It was as if he wasn't quite in control of his movements, maybe it was his body trying to delay the bad news they were likely to hear.

Ted twiddled the controls so only Nate could hear the conversation. Might as well give the man some privacy. God knew he probably needed it.

The call didn't connect, which worsened Nate's mood. Chloe took the phone from him, her face wore a frown, as if she were deep in thought.

'Maybe, the lines are busy, try again later,' Ted said encouragingly.

Nate nodded sullenly and retreated back to his own thoughts.

Things were taking a downward turn. They were meant to be speeding along in a private jet ten times faster than this. Every hour, every minute counted. It was a race against time that none of them were ready for. Mainly because it was a test of emotional strength rather than physical.

Nate would have gladly traded this situation for an infinite amount adventures back to back. This was one situation that couldn't be fixed by guns and a well placed RPG rocket.

Sully chewed on an unlit cigar that he had managed to save, even after all the crap they had been through.

As much as he needed the toilet right now, there were definitely bigger things at stake. He wondered what he could do to lighten the situation right now.

However it was Chloe who broke the tension. She had apparently been on the phone since she had taken it from Nate.

'Ted, land at the Innsbruck airfield,' Chloe ordered, 'I've arranged for us to pick up another private jet.'

The men all turned to her at this point.

'Who do you know in Austria?' Sully wanted to know.

'I'm allowed contacts,' Chloe said with a smirk.

Ted had a dark look on his face, 'Is it a man?'

It was Chloe's turn to enjoy herself, 'Yes.'

Ted scowled.

…

'Somebody took him?' Elena said barely containing her new found anger.

At some point between the quarterly hour check ins, her baby had gone missing. His incubator was found empty by the duty nurse who had fetched the on-call doctor. He didn't have a clue where the child was either. He wasn't due for any tests that night.

'It looks like that,' the nurse answered.

Elena bit back the torrent she was about to unleash on this poor woman. It wasn't her fault, directly, she was only the messenger but still, what kind of place was this?

'Don't you have any security? Somebody must have seen something?' Elena said her voice rising with every word. Now she was annoyed, exasperated and a little fearful. She hadn't even named the child and someone had just snatched him away. They got through one problem just to have another one crop up. It just wasn't fair.

'We are underfunded as it is, at night we are stretched to the limits of our resources,' the nurse said apologetically as if trying to justify what had happened.

Elena rubbed her forehead with a hand, the other rested on a hip. This was even more surreal than her son being born prematurely.

A policeman came into the room and headed for them. Before he could speak Elena confronted him.

'Please, tell me someone saw my son. They must have,' she said and felt a sudden rush. _My son, _it felt weird saying that out loud. Elena wondered how long she would have that privilege for.

The policeman looked liked a regular guy, his face was serious but his eyes said that it was way too early to be dealing with a hysterical mother. It always was.

'Miss Fisher,' he began, his accent heavy, 'At approximately two fifteen this morning the duty nurse reported your son missing from his incubator in the ICU ward. At the same time an experienced paediatric doctor, a Dr Khan, also went missing, a small amount of blood was found on the floor of his office.'

He had a slow methodical voice. Elena listened to the words. Each one a little stab in the heart.

'Upon talking to the other staff, it was discovered that a blond man, slightly overweight, an American perhaps, was seen in restricted areas of the hospital. We are looking for this man now.'

'Why did no one report him?' Elena asked, frustrated.

'It was assumed that he was part of your film crew and on his way to visit you. It seems this was not the case,' the policeman said.

If there was ever a time to say 'No shit Sherlock,' today was it, Elena thought bitterly and then she froze.

Blond hair. Overweight. American.

This sounded familiar but impossible.

That man was dead.

Wasn't he?

...

Dr Khan's nose was broken.

It hurt like hell.

The men who had given it to him were watching him silently. It wasn't like they had anything better to do in the back of the van. They had been on the road for some time now.

That wasn't the main thing though. No, the thing that mattered the most was the little bundle of blankets which sat next to him.

The good doctor recalled what his captors had said. '_All you need to do is keep the kid alive. He stays alive, you stay alive. Get it?'_

Doctor Khan wondered what kind of evil world he lived in, where armed men would kidnap defenceless babies. It was sickening. He turned to the bundle and carefully lifted a few folds, revealing a tiny human form.

The doctor had managed to grab some files and all the equipment and drugs he could fit in a carrier bag when his captors had come knocking. It was not much but it would have to do. He had to keep this baby alive. Not just because the men would kill him but because it was his job and duty.

He would try his best.

He hoped it would be enough.

…

Sully wasn't sure if he was happy to see the smiling face before him or not.

Barry the film director was standing in front of a gleaming jet, fuelled and waiting to be flown.

'Tell me, Barry,' Sully said, tipping his head back so he could get a good look at the sleek aircraft, 'How did you sort this one out? Huh?'

'My dad now works for the Austrian government. I managed to pull a few strings and get you this. I hope it's ok,' Barry explained. His smile dimmed when he turned to Nate.

'I'm sorry to hear about Elena and your son,' he said.

Nate was nothing but grateful, 'It's ok. You don't realise how much help this is. I mean it.'

Barry looked like he might shed a tear and Chloe sighed. Just like the old times.

'This is great and all, but how are we going to stop the engine's from failing?' Ted said frostily. He wasn't too keen on Barry. From what Ted understood, the British director had spent some time with Chloe. It was petty but he still found himself getting a little jealous.

Chloe thought this was funny.

'Well, right now, there aren't any flights here just as a precaution. If you fly south more, you should be ok. Stick to the higher altitudes, there will be a lower concentration of ash.'

Sully thought this sounded credible and without further hesitation decided to test out the jet's on-board toilet. The others followed but not to the toilet, obviously.

Chloe paused when Barry followed her up the folding stairs.

'What do you think you're doing?' she asked.

Barry shrugged, 'I want to come too. I did give you a plane...and a job.'

'Sorry, what?' Chloe replied, now just plain confused.

'That film you're working on - Jake's Fortune. I am co-directing it with a friend. One day he rang me while I was location scouting and said some Australian chick had come down to the studios help out and I told him to hire you,' Barry explained.

'Excuse me, I am not some _chick_,' Chloe said vehemently.

Ted smirked at Barry.

'Ok, children,' Sully intervened, palms up, 'make up now. We can fight about this some other time. Now put your seatbelts on and don't get up until the little light goes out. Hey, Miguel, put that whiskey away this minute.'

With a guilty look, Miguel slipped the mini bar bottle back into the cupboard and settled down in the leather seat.

There was much grumbling but Chloe and Barry seated themselves while Ted went up to the cockpit with Sully.

'I can't believe he just talked to us like that,' Chloe muttered.

Barry stretched his legs, 'It's good to be back.'

Chloe sighed, somehow they had managed to collect all the crazies back.

In a strange way, it felt nice, she mused. People to share the burden with.

Chloe felt a pang of discomfort.

Elena was all alone. She had no one.

They had to hurry.

…

As it happened, at that moment in time, Elena wasn't alone.

The policeman was still there, waiting for updates and the nurses came to say their condolences.

The duty nurse apologised with tears in her eyes and whatever fury Elena had, it dissolved in a matter of seconds.

Crap happens. It just seemed to be happening to her all the time.

After the anger, all that was left was the grief and worry.

The policeman excused himself for a call and Elena half-heartedly hoped that someone was telling him that they had found her son and that everything was going to be ok.

Of course, it wasn't that but it was something to chew on.

'We've had reports of the blond man getting into a van. We have a partial number plate number. There have also been several sightings of the van. It's been travelling on the highway, it is heading due East,' the policeman said.

'In reality, what does this mean?' Elena asked. She wasn't here to be molly coddled. She needed the truth. What were the chances of her getting her son back alive?

The policeman sighed, 'Number plate records aren't reliable enough. It's likely that the kidnappers stole some plates and used those. As for the direction, they are heading into the centre of the country, which doesn't make sense. There are plenty of ports and airfields in Istanbul. They must have a certain destination in mind. Unless...'

Elena waited a moment till impatience got the better of her, 'Unless?'

'Well, by taking that highway, they would have access to the West coast of Turkey because the highway also goes South as well. The Istanbul ports lead to the Sea of Marmara. To get to the Aegean Sea you have to go through Marmara and then a narrow pass which is heavily monitored. By going South they bypass this and they can reach the Aegean directly, giving them access to illegally charter a boat to one of the many islands between here and Greece.'

'How many islands?' Elena asked.

'Hundreds,' the policeman replied flatly. 'We must intercept them before they reach the coast. It will take them time. Please have faith. We are working as hard as we can to return your son.'

Elena gave him a sad smile and the policeman could do nothing but feel sorry for her.

'Is there anyone we can call for you?' he asked politely.

Elena shook her head. More than anything she really needed to talk to Nate but she had no idea where he was.

For some reason though, Elena felt a little better than before. She couldn't quite explain it. Maybe it was knowing that her son was actually making a recovery before he was taken. That meant something.

The policeman was chatting to the nurses about the missing doctor. Elena was curious and the policeman was more than helpful.

'We think that the kidnappers also took Dr Khan to keep your son alive. The nurses said that some drugs and medical supplies were taken from the doctor's supplies,' he explained. 'It is possible the kidnappers want some kind of ransom and might not be taking him to an island at all.'

'How often do you get the children back?' Elena asked.

The detective sighed, 'Often enough that there is still a bit of hope.'

Elena tried to take this optimistically.

It was hard.

…

The jet hummed contentedly as it flew through the sky.

Austria was far behind. For once, they were making good time.

Nate felt a little better and while he still looked grim he didn't seem as defeated as he had before.

Ted passed him the phone again.

Nate didn't hesitate this time and dialled the number.

'This is Nathan Drake, I am trying to reach Elena Fisher, she is a patient at the hospital,' he began when he reached the hospital switchboard.

He was told to wait a few moments which he did with patience.

Finally, he was put through.

'Elena?'

…

The policeman frowned, 'Who is this?'

'_Uh, it's Nathan Drake, Elena Fisher's um...partner? Is she ok?'_

The policeman looked at Elena. 'A man called Nathan Drake is asking for you.'

She said she would take it and the man handed her the phone.

'Nate?'

'_Elena, thank God, are you ok? Who was that guy? What about the baby?-'_

Elena cut off the barrage of questions, simply glad to hear his voice again, she drew strength from it. Barely knowing where to start, Elena managed to relate most of what had happened.

There was silence on the other end.

'_You mean, he's ok? Our son. He's better now?'_

His tone was one filled with relief and Elena wondered how she would tell him the next part. Better to just get it done and over with.

'Someone took our baby,' she said quickly.

There was a pause.

'_What do you mean?'_

'Someone kidnapped our child. Apparently he's an overweight blond American.'

'_Phil is dead,' _ Nate replied quietly.

'That's what I thought too,' Elena murmured, 'I don't understand any of this.'

'_Me neither. Look, I'm flying in, I'll be there in a few hours. Hold on. I love you.'_

The phone disconnected and Elena stared at the handset.

'I love you too.'

…

Nate turned to Sully, 'Get the others, now.'

There was something in his voice that made Sully do this without saying something sarcastic. It was forceful to say the least.

Nate gripped the phone in his hand. There was so much more he wanted to say to Elena but he hadn't got the chance. It wasn't the right time. He needed to do some digging.

Phil was dead. He hadn't seen it happen but no one had heard of any survivors. However, Phil was the only one who would have had a grudge against them and fit the description perfectly.

Ted looked over, concerned, 'Is everything ok?'

Nate nodded, 'Things have just got a little more serious though.'

Ted accepted this and flicked the plane to auto pilot, giving Nate his full attention.

'Is Phil dead?'

Ted was thrown by this question, 'I guess so. His will was executed and everything. His money and estate has been donated to charity. The law courts had to rule him dead because they never recovered his body. Why?'

Nate had a sinking feeling in his gut. They had never recovered a body. Food for thought indeed.

Unlike Elena, Nate was in no mood to suppress his anger. Someone had stolen his kid. This was personal. His own flesh and blood and someone thought they could mess with that. If they thought they could get away with it they had another thing coming. Nate was going to find them and he was going to kill them. There was no doubt in his mind about this.

The others gathered in the cockpit.

Nate turned to them.

'Phil kidnapped my son,' he said.

There was a silence followed by the various outcries of surprise and shock.

'That makes no sense,' Chloe repeated after the hubbub died down.

'I know,' Nate said wearily.

'Well...shit,' Sully supplied, at loss for words. As plot twists went, this was pretty out there.

'What do we do now?' Barry asked.

'Find Phil and kill him,' Nate said, serious as hell. How he was going to do this he had no idea but that didn't matter.

Sully put a hand on his shoulder. Nate half expected him to try and talk him out of it, saying that he wasn't thinking straight and revenge wasn't the answer. Instead, he said something else completely.

'Sounds good to me.'

* * *

**Where it says 'crap happens' I first wrote, 'crab happens,' I was half tempted to leave it there to see if anyone would say anything lol...**

**All the geography here was derived from looking at Google Maps lol...it kind of make sense...a little bit...if you have nothing better to do...you can go Google Maps and look at Turkey...you will see what I mean...I'm not good at describing maps...I did study geography for a while though...**

**They will be going to Turkey first to pick up Elena...she's been out of action for quite some time now...**

**For once I can kind of see where this going now...sort of...stuff is happening...I even had to write stuff out on a piece of paper to try and hash out a plausible ending while trying to tie up all the loose ends...too much to remember**

**If it wasn't me writing the story I would have said that the kid's magical recovery was a little far fetched...I still think that but it doesn't matter lol...this whole chapter is a little farfetched to be honest…scratch that…the whole story is lol**

**Thanks for reading and to anyone who clicks on this accidently…you make my stats look healthy lol…**


	25. Golden Toothed Dingo

**Sorry this is late, I suddenly got very busy...this chapter is longer though but I'm not sure that's a good thing...by word count it's actually the longest there is in this story  
**

**We are back to the past now…the story will end in the present day…which makes sense…**

**In the last chapter a baby got stolen…Barry joined in the fun while providing a jet air plane…Nate talked to Elena and Ted got jealous of Barry for no good reason**

* * *

Chapter 24

The far left tunnel disappeared under a cloud of dust and stone fragments. Guards scattered. Prisoners were forgotten.

Phil's jaw went slack, his skin had taken on a waxy pallor.

Seeing an opportunity Nate surged forwards and snatched the documents from Phil's hands. The man barely registered this and his gaze was fixed on something behind Nate's shoulder.

Men screamed, choked, spluttered.

Elena and Sully helped the others free.

What had caused the explosion?

Nate had a horrible feeling he knew what it was. Or to put it correctly, what _they _were.

It appeared that the two Spartoi had been trapped in the same tunnel and sensing this they had got extremely…agitated.

Nate wondered why his luck was so rotten. He wasn't a bad man.

'Stop standing around,' Elena shouted at him. Nate snapped out of his reverie and hurried to his friends.

The two Spartoi lumbered into view. The halogen lights confused them and their inhuman roars shook boulders from the chamber's ceiling.

Phil too regained his senses and upon realising that the Nate had stolen the documents, lunged after him with surprising agility.

While Nate was athletic and fairly fit, Phil had a good few extra pounds on him and the two crumpled to the floor

Sully was bemused, 'If they were women, nearly naked and covered and mud, I would be enjoying this.'

'You dirty old man,' Barry said with a grin.

Chloe was keeping an eye on the Spartoi who, having come over their sudden confusion were attacking each other like starved, savage dogs.

'This really isn't the time,' she said, trying to spread her worry. They needed to get a move on.

Barry, however, was having fun spectating, 'This isn't really a fight...Phil's just squashing Nate.'

It was true. Nate was pinned under Phil's weight, his arms and legs flailing trying to get some sort of leverage. It wasn't really working. It was almost amusing.

'Isn't somebody gonna help?' Nate gasped.

Sully and Barry tackled Phil and some guards who hadn't forgotten their orders thought they'd join the massive pile up.

Chloe frowned. If they were nearly naked and covered in mud she would be enjoying this. Except for Phil. He could keep his clothes and save them all from potential blindness. Come to think of it...Sully could keep his clothes too.

A truck's worth of rock crashed a few meters to the left of Chloe and her mind refocused.

Elena looked at the men disbelievingly, 'I have no idea what they're trying to accomplish.'

'Me neither,' Chloe said, 'But while they do...,' she eyed the scrum of bodies, '...whatever it is that they're doing...we really need to figure a way out of here. There is a rope out of here, but we're sitting ducks once we're about half way up. They could shoot us down instantly.'

'We need to deal with the Spartoi first,' Elena said, the two women relocated so they were hidden from the view of the giant warriors whose fighting technique had been reduced to just throwing the first thing that came into their unnaturally large hands. So as the air filled with screams, rocks and the occasional projectile guard, the two women hashed out a plan. Something that the men seemed too preoccupied to trouble themselves with.

It went a little like this. Once the two Spartoi had dealt with a few more guards the plan would be to try and lure them into a position where they would fall off the edge of the platform and into the gushing water below. Then using whatever weapons they could find take out the rest of the soldiers and climb up the rope and into freedom.

The two women heard the chatter of automatic fire and peered round their hiding place. The rope fell gracefully into the swirling water, one end cut clean through by a stray bullet.

'Ah,' Chloe said.

Elena spoke, 'This is going to be a problem, I think it's about time we round up the men.'

Chloe agreed.

…

The Spartoi were nowhere near finishing their ancient grudge and they were now grappling with each other.

Some bright spark thought he would throw and grenade at them.

He aimed straight and true.

There was a terrific explosion and both Spartoi froze. The two heads turned together and their gaze settled on the source of the grenade. It was a synchronised motion and unnerving with it.

The bright spark sweated a little.

Seeing the little form in front of them the two Spartoi seemed to be thinking the same thing. Dumb as they were they could sense something good when it presented itself. This could be fun. Like a game.

Who could kill the little man first?

Funnily enough, the bright spark seemed to understand what they were thinking too and started to back away.

With slow movements the two Spartoi faced the man and ambled after him.

The bright spark screamed.

…

'We've got a problem,' Chloe said watching as one of Phil's soldiers sprinted past the men who were apparently wrestling. The two hulking Spartoi were no longer fighting each other but were now heading towards their hiding place.

Chloe gave credit to Elena who was keeping incredibly calm.

'Right, first, we cause some sort of diversion and get the Spartoi to go towards the water,' she said determined.

They watched as the two Spartoi noticed the pile of men and decided this looked more amusing than one puny man.

'We've got another problem,' Chloe added. 'They're going after Nate.'

There was no reply and Chloe realised that she was talking to thin air.

Elena had disappeared.

…

Nate was relieved when the weight was finally removed from his chest but when he opened his eyes to see two Spartoi staring down at him with their unnatural inhuman eyes, he rather wished that he was still being smothered by an overweight man and his cronies.

The two creatures raised one fist each, ready to pound them down on human before them.

Nate quickly rolled to the side, and finding his feet ran towards a bank of mobile generators that were powering the numerous lamps. He dived for cover as one of the Spartoi hurled a generator at him. There was a shower of sparks and the connected lamps flickered and died, throwing shadows haphazardly against the walls.

Nate was surprised to find Chloe, Sully and Barry hiding out too.

'Thanks for telling me that there were Spartoi around,' Nate fumed. Sully shrugged.

'One minute we were beating the crap out of people the next everyone is screaming for their mothers and running in every direction,' he explained.

'So you just joined in while your best friend was dazed and confused from the lack of air supply because an overweight man was sitting on him?' Nate asked.

Barry nodded, 'Pretty much.'

Nate let it go when something else got his attention.

'Where's Elena?'

'That's a good question,' Chloe said unhelpfully.

...

Elena had been skirting around the edge of the battle, taking out men when it was needed and collecting anything that looked explosive.

While doing this she ran into Phil who had run away as soon as he had seen the approaching Spartoi.

Elena levelled her gun at him just as one of the guards did the same to her.

…

Nate was panicking.

The unnatural shroud of smoke that the Spartoi carried with them obscured his view. It didn't help that there dust, gun smoke and grenade shrapnel were also present.

Elena couldn't be seen anywhere.

This did not help his mood. Two Spartoi, Phil, guards and now a missing Elena, Nate's problems were growing with every minute.

The group were still hidden from the Spartoi who had gone back to attacking each other.

'Ok, this is the plan,' Chloe started, her voice low and quick, 'We grab some grenades and guns and run out to surprise the Spartoi. The guns and lights should confuse them. We should be able to drive them back to the edge of the platform using the grenades.'

'And if we that doesn't work?' Barry asked, decidedly paler than before.

'Well, at least we died trying,' Sully said. Barry nearly squeaked.

Nate was still craning his head around, trying to catch a glimpse of Elena. Gunfire echoed and he ducked low again.

'That sounds great but I really need to find Elena,' he said, determined. While worried, he was also quite annoyed. Why did she always run off on her own?

'Maybe I should help him,' Barry interjected quickly. Chloe shot him a look and was about to suggest something else when the ground began to rumble.

'What the-?' Sully was cut off as he dived out of the way of falling rubble. The cave was becoming steadily more unstable. The floor was starting to shake. Chunks of ceiling dropped mercilessly, crushing the people below. Cracks zigzagged across the floor.

They were running out of time.

Chloe grabbed a rifle from one of the fallen soldiers. 'We meet back here as soon as possible. Collect anything that could be useful.'

Sully went first. He peered round and hoping that the area was clear he stumbled into the smoke.

Seconds passed and somebody screamed.

It sounded distinctly female.

Chloe didn't even get a chance to stop Nate who ran off as soon as he heard it.

She wished she could help but they really needed to sort out the impending danger of the Spartoi who were quickly running out of humans to play with.

'Right, Barry, you're with me. Grab any grenades you see, if the smoke gets thicker that means you're getting too close to the Spartoi. My leg isn't very good at the moment, so an early warning would be appreciated-.'

'Uh, Chloe?'

'Don't interrupt. I know you're scared, but we can do this. It's up to us now-.'

'No, seriously-.'

'What did I say? I'm trying to help you here,' Chloe said irritated. She was trying to bolster his morale for crying out loud. The least he could do was let her finish. 'Right, on my mark-.'

'Chloe!' the hysteria in Barry's voice was enough to put Chloe on edge. She stopped speaking.

'What is it?'

'You know that thing you said, where the smoke gets thicker and that means the Spartoi are getting closer?'

'Yes.'

Barry paused for dramatic effect. No matter what the situation, Barry couldn't quite control the Michael Bay in him.

'Well, it's happening now.'

Chloe stiffened and turned her head so she was looking above the generators.

A pair of intense ember red eyes stared back.

Chloe swallowed, aware of the beads of sweat rolling down the side of her face.

'Ah.'

…

'Freeze!'

Elena stopped, her gun still pointing at Phil.

A guard stood to her left, gun raised. Elena could almost feel the laser sight burning a hole in her head. The bullet would have enough power to blow the whole thing off. Not a pretty sight.

Phil turned when he heard the man shout and seeing the situation was in his hand, wiped the cowardly expression from his face and replaced it with a smug smile.

'So Miss Fisher, you think you've won? You think you think you can stop me?'

Elena let him rant. It was the only thing keeping her alive. She paled when she saw him hold up a rucksack. Nate's rucksack. The one with the jawbone and dragon teeth. He must have taken it in all the confusion that followed on from the two Spartoi appearing.

'I may have failed this time but trust me. I will get out of here and I will raise an army worth fearing,' Phil continued.

Elena despised him. From the sneer on his face to the way the buttons of his shirt strained to contain his weight. After all this he still thought he could control the Spartoi. He was certifiably crazy.

She lowered her gun, it would be no use anyway.

Nothing short of sheer dumb luck could save her from this one.

Fortunately for her, that's exactly what happened.

…

Nate was running on fear. A drug even more powerful than adrenaline. It was as if he was entering the hundred meter dash at the Olympics the only difference being he wasn't sure what would be waiting for him at the finish line.

His mind replayed the scream over and over. Anyone else would have doubted who it was but he knew. He knew it was Elena. Somehow he just knew.

Nate promised himself nothing bad would happen to her. He wouldn't let it. Not Phil. Not the Spartoi. He was going to protect her. Protect her because they were going to be a family.

With this core promise fuelling him, Nate covered ground with speed and not one guard could stop him.

He was now entering an area that was littered with bus sized boulders and debris. The air was thick with dust. It looked like part of the chamber ceiling had collapsed.

Nate called Elena's name but no one replied. This was not looking good. In a crazed frenzy he searched the rocks. He found the bodies of some guards but none of them seemed to be Elena which was one small piece of luck.

He picked up an AK-47 whose owner did nothing about this on the account of him being dead. His eyes gritty, Nate saw movement ahead and raising the barrel of the gun, hurried forward. He realised his mistake too late. With sudden realisation, Nate noticed that there were several shadows emerging from all sides and as the first guard came into view, Nate knew he was in trouble.

Two Spartoi, Phil, guards, a missing Elena and now he was surrounded by enemies. Nate's problems definitely showed no sign of letting up.

Nate took stock of the situation, weighing up the pros and cons of going all out in a hail of bullets and grenades. When he saw that one of the men was holding a grenade launcher, the decision was easy to make. He dropped the gun and raised his hands. He would never survive and that wouldn't do. Nate needed to stay alive. He still needed to save Elena.

A this point, Nate noticed someone clambering over the giant boulders in the distance. Someone who looked like they were having trouble doing so. Possibly because of their aged knees. Nate could have smiled. No matter what the situation, he could always rely on Sully to even out the odds.

The guards seemed to be in a hurry. Nate didn't blame them as the Spartoi seemed to be running out of things to do and were casting their great heads in all directions, seeking out a new plaything. Understandably, no one wanted to be it.

They hurried forwards, unsure about their orders. They hadn't been prepared for this and the time wasted on deciding what to do sealed their fate. Sully had now found a stable post and was taking aim. The barrel flashed and Nate sprung into action. His leg swept low and tripped the two soldiers that flanked him. Grabbing a pistol out of the one of the falling men's side holster, he opened fire. Not necessarily aiming but just trying to cause maximum confusion and havoc. The clip emptied and Nate threw the gun down, barely a second passed before he pulled the pin out of a grenade fastened to another guard's vest and ran out of there like a bat out of hell.

The explosion was deafening and Nate was flung into a pile of rubble. His ears were ringing and as he crawled he felt arms pulling his weak body up. Sully had joined him and was now dragging his friend with much cursing out of the mini war zone.

'Christ Nate, you scared me half to death, what were you thinking? Setting a grenade off like that,' Sully panted when he thought they were far away enough. Nate choked but managed to support himself by leaning against the cave wall.

'It seemed like a good idea at the time,' he mumbled, looking at the wreckage before him. The ground was slightly higher here and Nate could tell that this was far from over. The two Spartoi and their otherworldly smokescreen rampaged on to Nate's left while the ceiling continued to crumble opposite. They needed to eliminate the Spartoi as quickly as possible but the task seemed impossible now that were divided, but first Nate had to find Elena. This was a mess.

Visibility was low and many of the lights were broken. Fires raged where generators and fuel had been exposed to sparks, the light they provided was sinister and uneven. It was virtually impossible to make out what was going on until you were a foot away from it.

'If you say we should split up, I will actually hit you,' Sully threatened, his face was grey but he had regained his breath and looked determined. Nate was thankful for this.

'I wasn't going to say that. We need to stick together if we are going to accomplish anything. I don't even know where to start though,' Nate said truthfully. He checked he still had the document that he had stolen from Phil, he was lucky it hadn't fallen out after all the crap that had happened. Nate noticed that it was ripped in half. If Phil hadn't kept a hold of it then it could be anywhere in this mess. That did not bode well for the finding of the second jaw bone.

'Well, this is a start,' Sully said and passed a radio to Nate, 'I took it from one of the bodies. Maybe it still works. Maybe Elena or the others will hear it.'

Nate looked doubtful, 'Or it will just alert everyone to our position.'

Sully shrugged, 'At least he Spartoi don't understand English.'

Nate turned back to the scene in front of him and twiddled the settings so the radio was broadcasting on all channels.

It was worth a try.

…

Chloe was acutely aware that she was still screaming, even though she had run away from the Spartoi faster than a wallaby being chased by a dingo…that was on fire…and had rabies…and a gold tooth.

Barry was opposite her, he too was screaming.

She slapped him. Hard.

He slapped her back with equal strength.

Both stopped screaming.

'Thanks, I needed that,' Chloe said hoarsely. Her throat felt like it had been buffed with sand paper…badly. The slap had made her regain her senses though which were slightly addled after that impromptu meeting with the Spartoi from next door.

Barry was as pale as a sheet and was shaking like one hanging from a line on a blustery day.

'I just want to go home,' he said, close to tears. Chloe patted his back.

'There, there,' Chloe comforted him as best she could, given the situation. She peered around their cover which Chloe had run to blindly after realising the Spartoi were standing above them. She still couldn't wipe the image of their burning eyes boring into hers. It gave her the heebie jeebies. She shivered.

The smoke had cleared a little and Chloe could see that they had wandered into some rock maze. It looked like the ceiling had collapsed in this part of the chamber. It was possible they could lose the Spartoi here, the downside being that Chloe was completely disorientated and couldn't tell where they were meant to meet the others or where the lip of rock that led to the water was. She would have to climb one of the boulders to ascertain their position which was a risky move and judging how Barry was shaking like a leaf, it was going to be her who was sticking their neck on the line.

They wove their way around the shadowy pathway, trying to find a rock that was easy to climb. After a few minutes they came to a clearing where it was evident that a grenade had gone off. In the middle was a mess of bodies and as Chloe stepped over a boot with a foot still in it and nothing else, she couldn't help but wonder if her friends were involved.

They searched the bodies for anything useful and that's when Barry froze. His lip quivering. Chloe correctly took this as a bad sign.

'What is it?' she demanded, checking for the Spartoi's smoke. If she was going to have to do another runner she would have to get moving asap.

'I can hear something,' Barry whispered.

Chloe frowned, 'What is it?'

'Some sort of beep,' Barry said rather unhelpfully.

Chloe rolled her eyes but listened out for it. There, a faint electronic noise coming from under a pile of bodies and equipment. With combined effort the two managed to locate the source. It was a slightly charred comm. unit. Some of the plastic had melted but a red light was flashing. It appeared that someone was hailing them.

Chloe was just about to answer when Barry grabbed her wrist.

'Don't do it,' he said quickly, 'Haven't you seen Phone Booth? The guy in that picks up the phone and then gets into well loads of trouble.'

'I doubt we could get into any more trouble,' Chloe muttered, wondering how despite their predicament Barry could still act like this. Probably a nervous breakdown Chloe thought to herself.

She clicked the button on the walkie-talkie and then fell silent. What was she even meant to say? Luckily the person on the other end started for her.

'_This is Nathan Drake, uh, if your name is Chloe, Barry or Elena, please, um, identify yourself?'_

The fact the last part was almost said like a question made Chloe think that Nate didn't even know himself if anyone was out there. At any rate he hadn't really thought about what to say either. Before she could reply Barry snatched the unit from her.

'Oh my God, Nate. Please, come save us!' he begged. Chloe sighed with a shake of her head.

'_Calm down…' _ the voice crackled and the unit started to spark, it didn't look like it was going to last much longer, '_Barry, who else is with you?'_

'Just Chloe,' the man replied.

'_Are you guys alright?'_

Nate had to repeat the last sentence because the reception was so bad, during this time Chloe managed to wrestle back the radio from Barry, 'Hey, Nate, we're fine but we are seriously lost. I think the ceiling has collapsed here or something. We ran into the Spartoi but I think we've lost them for now.'

There was a moments silence. '_OK, we need to meet up, make your way to the back of the cave, where the three tunnels start. Then we'll sort out what to do from there.'_

Chloe didn't get to ask about how she would go about doing that because the unit finally gave up on its feeble life and died, a puff of smoke wafted from the speaker. Chloe dropped it, disgusted. None of the other radios were usable. She supposed that the original plan of climbing up a rock was back on.

Barry seemed to have found a backbone and had stopped shaking. Chloe registered the weariness etched in his expression but also caught the determination. 'What's gotten into you?' she asked.

'We've got a plan now. Meet the others at the back of the cave. We can do this. We can get out of here,' Barry said without wavering. The idea of being in a group appealed to him greatly.

Chloe led them down a winding path. 'That's the spirit,' she said encouragingly, wondering how long his mood would last. Probably until the next time they got shot at or ran into the Spartoi. Chloe guessed they didn't have long then.

Having found a suitable rock, Chloe realised that Barry would have to do the climbing because she still couldn't support her body weight on her bad leg alone. Luckily for Chloe he was still in a good mood and went up without a fuss.

There was as sudden burst of gunfire as Barry reached the top but the shots were off and suddenly came to a stop as if something, for example, a Spartoi had stopped the owner from pulling the trigger any longer. Barry nimbly made his way back down again and relayed what he had seen.

'Basically, the pile of rubble gets denser that way,' Barry gestured with a thumb movement, 'the edge which leads to the rapids is that way…the ceiling didn't collapse as much over there,' he pointed in the opposite direction, 'if we want to meet Nate, we'll have to go through the rock, we'll probably have to climb a few just to make sure we're still going the right way.'

Chloe nodded, this seemed like a sensible plan, 'OK, but where are the Spartoi?'

Barry frowned, 'They aren't in this part. I don't think they can get between these spaces well.'

This definitely sounded good to Chloe. 'Ok then. Let's get a move on,' she said, eager to regroup with the others and get this bloody mission over and done with.

As they hurried through the labyrinth like paths, Chloe realised that she had forgotten about Ted's demise. She had been so busy trying to stay alive but his death seemed to sink in now of all times and for unfathomable reason Chloe thought she felt her cheeks growing wet.

Christ, was she crying? Chloe wiped a hands across her face. This was not the time for emotions. She needed to concentrate on surviving.

Barry suddenly stopped, interrupting Chloe's grim thoughts. She was about to question him when he put a finger to his lips and pointed to the scene that they had just crept up on.

They watched in silence.

…

Elena opened her eyes. Her body seemed stiff.

The last thing she remembered was the ceiling collapsing and her screaming as she tried to find somewhere to hide.

With sluggish movements Elena gauged the damage. Nothing seemed broken and as she heaved herself upright she noticed that had been saved by a rock that had landed on its side and propped up a flatter boulder. It created a little shelter that saved her from the worst of things.

As she crawled out, she realised that Phil had not been so lucky. His lower body was trapped under a pile of boulders and he seemed unconscious. Elena saw a twitching hand under a pile of rock and assumed it was the guard that had been pointing a gun at her.

She spied Nate's rucksack, or what was left of it after a giant boulder had crushed it not far from the unconscious villain. Elena tugged at the fabric but couldn't get it loose. She sighed, it would be impossible to move the rock by herself. She needed some sort of lever.

A quick look around confirmed Elena's thoughts, there wasn't anything of use here. She was in two minds about whether to leave it behind or try and get it out. As far as she knew just the jawbone and teeth were in there. They might come in use later. Since the Spartoi seemed busy elsewhere, Elena decided to take her chances.

She didn't want to wander far but it seemed she would have to leave to find something that could help her shift the rock. After a few minutes of searching, Elena found one of the poles that held some lamps which were long broken. Pleased with her find, she headed back to the rucksack only to find that some of Phil's men had stumbled across the scene and were trying to retrieve their leader.

Cursing under her breath, Elena hunkered down and waited for them to leave. Hopefully they wouldn't notice the rucksack and try and get it themselves. There were four of them. Three were moving rocks and the other was keeping watch. His eyes darted around at break-neck speed, clearly worried that the Spartoi would show up.

Elena hardly got the feeling she could take them all out with her pole, but she did need to get a move on. Not far away a grenade exploded and all the men suddenly looked up. They glanced at each other furtively and ran for it. Too cowardly to save their boss. Elena crept forwards and tried the pole out on the rock. It needed a few tries but it finally budged and she was able to grab the rucksack.

She dumped the contents on a table height rock. The jawbone was in pieces. Surprisingly the little box with the teeth was unscathed. She prised the lid off and gasped. The teeth were no longer aged bone but what seemed to be flawless crystal. They were beautiful and sharp too Elena soon realised after pricking her finger on one.

She turned her attention to the prone but formidable form that was Phil. As much as she hated the man, it seemed a little heartless to just leave him here. Elena looked for signs of the Spartoi but there wasn't any. With a resigned sigh she wandered over to see what she could do.

Elena noticed that something was in Phil's clenched fist, it looked like some paper. She was about to pry it free when the four men returned. They looked as shocked as she was to see them. They clearly hadn't had much luck in running in the direction that they had. Their faces were pale and lined with fear.

She brandished her pole, wondering how she could have forgotten to pick up a better weapon than this one.

The men got over this sudden surprise and raised their weapons half-heartedly.

'Look, I don't want to hurt you,' Elena said as calmly as she could, 'But why don't you help me move this boulder and then we can all leave…alive.'

One of men raised his eyebrows, 'Uh, lady, shouldn't we be threatening you. I mean…you're armed with a pole.'

Elena thwacked him round the head good and proper. The guy joined his boss on the floor, unconscious. The other three dropped their guns and Elena couldn't suppress the urge to roll her eyes. Really, these men were just giant softies. She then remembered the one who was lying under a massive rock. Well, not all of them.

'What do you want us to do?' one of the other men asked.

Elena lowered the piece of metal, 'Help Phil.'

They did and as Elena watched she could swear that the smoke around them was getting thicker. It was probably her imagination. She felt like she had been in one spot for too long.

Without warning, somebody slapped their hands down on her shoulders.

Elena screamed, turned and lashed out with the pole in one fluid movement.

'Bloody hell,' a familiar British voice said, 'I think you broke my nose.'

Elena stared furiously at Barry who was holding a hand to his gushing nose. 'Well you shouldn't have done that. You scared the hell out of me,' she said handing the man the last clean tissue she had. She acknowledged Chloe with a nod.

Chloe washed her hands of the situation completely, 'If I had known he was going to do that I would have hit him first. Sorry.'

Elena let her blood pressure drop back to a safer rate and shook her head. 'It's ok. I'm just glad that you're both alright.'

'My nose is broken,' Barry pointed out.

'But that was your fault so I didn't count it,' Elena said.

Chloe filled her in on what had happened so far and the current plan about meeting with Nate at the back of the chamber. Elena frowned.

'Wait a minute. You were waiting in the shadows before helping me. Guys, seriously. I could have done with some help.'

'We didn't know what was going on and besides, you seemed to have everything under control. I liked the way you scared them with a pole,' Chloe said in her defence.

Elena thanked her and told them about the broken jawbone. As an afterthought she turned back to the men who were watching with apprehension. Was the blond lady going to slap them with a pole or were they free to go now that they had uncovered the fat man?

'You guys can go now,' she dismissed them and not one stayed.

'Cowards,' Barry mumbled and Chloe gave him a look. Barry shrugged. 'I wasn't that bad.'

Elena had moved over to Phil to see that one of his legs had been turned to a bloody pulp. She swallowed and tried not to look at it. Luckily her attention was distracted by the paper in Phil's hand.

She was just about to pry it free when Chloe grabbed her arm and dragged her away.

'What's going on?' Elena asked but from the looks on Barry's and Chloe's faces it couldn't be good.

'Spartoi,' Chloe said.

Elena did not need to be told twice and the three heroes ran deeper into the rocks.

…

Nate looked around worriedly. He hadn't heard from the others in a while and it took all of Sully's skills of persuasion and grip to keep him from running off.

The Spartoi had moved into the area where the chamber of the ceiling had collapsed. Since that was where Chloe and Barry were this was not a good sign.

They needed help. Badly.

Between Nate and Sully a sizeable arsenal of weapons had been scavenged but how they were going to use them was still to be decided. For any of the numerous plans that Nate had come up with to work they would need a big group.

No Spartoi could be driven to the edge of platform by just them, let alone two.

It seemed as if some divine being was sympathetic to their situation because at that moment all three tunnel entrances exploded open. Nate and Sully were flung to the side. They watched in silence as people poured into the chamber. Nate could dimly see the square of light where they had climbed down from the surface. Men were rappelling down from here too.

They were clad in identical uniforms, held automatic weapons and wore big boots

Three men stood to the side of the middle tunnel's entrance not far from where Nate and Sully were getting to their feet. One wore a blue beret and was dressed in a khaki police uniform common to North African countries. The second man stood next to the policeman and was dressed in a similar uniform to the men who were storming the chamber. He was tall and in the dust induced haze Nate couldn't make out any facial features but it was the third man who caught both Sully's and Nate's attention.

He stood behind the other two and was holding a what seemed to be a bucket. The two men watched as the man picked something out of the container and chomped on it contentedly.

Nate and Sully looked at each other. The same thoughts going through their minds.

The cavalry had arrived and they had brought chicken.

* * *

**The problem with this chapter was that it required too much thinking and looking back at old chapters for things that I might have missed in the present day parts that should explained about now.**

**Also most of this chapter is a big ramble…I didn't really know what to do…so I wrote too much…I have never written the word 'rock' so many times lol**

**People with authority have big boots but not all dingoes have gold teeth lol…I apologize for any spelling mistakes there are probably quite a few…**

**I should also probably stop with the chicken references…sorry**

**I used to do the shoulder-slap-from-behind thing all the time…I never got hit in the face though for its probably why I didn't stop…I have grown up though since then honest…**

**You can tell that I wrote this on two different days lol…the first part is mostly single lines and then suddenly I manage to get paragraphs…**

**More importantly…if you see loose ends that I haven't explained…please tell me…otherwise this story will have even more giant plot holes lol**

**Thanks for reading, reviewing or clicking and then leaving without reading cuz' it looked boring…**

**A big thanks to everyone who put an alert on this...I feel special...  
**

**It means a lot…**


	26. Canoodle

**Recently I was attacked by chin spots…they were big and shiny…they're gone now but they'll be back…I know it…**

**In other news, my mother was shocked to find out that I still ate Happy Meals…you can never be too old for a Happy Meal…**

**Anyways in the last chapter Phil got crushed, Nate and the others avoided rampant Spartoi and a man who might be Ted turned up to help with a bunch of men…standard**

* * *

Chapter 25

Kadir watched with fascination as the dust cleared and the scene before him revealed itself. He was standing at the back of a colossal chamber. To his right the platform was covered in boulders and to his left the wet stone floor was illuminated by fires. At the end he could just made out a sudden drop as if the rock had been cut with a giant knife. More disturbing than the scenery itself were the occupants. Bodies were strewn across the place and through a thick purple-grey haze, Kadir thought he could see giant humanoid shapes lumbering around.

He didn't need to be told twice that the place was dangerous. Rocks were continually falling from the ceiling and he had to move out of way often. Not once did he think of dropping the bucket of fried chicken and running the heck out of there. That wasn't Kadir's way.

The man called Ted, whom Kadir now considered a friend, was conversing with the Egyptian detective. He was pointing and waving his arms in an orderly way, probably trying to direct the soldiers efficiently.

While they did this, Kadir sidled away, hoping to find a nice hidey hole till his friend fixed the situation. As he did this he ran into two men. One was old with hair shot with iron grey, the other was younger. Both were covered in dirt. Kadir held his bucket away from them.

The younger one muttered something in English to his companion, 'I knew it was a bucket of chicken. Come to think of it, I am feeling hungry. Do you think he'll share?'

'I don't know Nate, he looks kinda…possessive…of it…look at the way he's holding it. Yeesh, of all the things they could have brought, they chose chicken. It's nice to see they have their priorities straight,' the older one said with sarcasm.

Kadir would have pointed out that they did bring an army with them but Ted called out to him and hurried over.

'Kadir! I told you not to go running off,' he said and then turned to the two men.

The older man gaped.

The younger man's stomach rumbled.

…

'Ted?'

Nate turned his attention to the man in front of him. Even with half his face taped up with wound dressings, he knew it was him. Without a doubt.

'It is I,' Ted replied with a grin, 'I thought you guys could do with some back up.'

Nate was more preoccupied with the fast food at the moment but didn't say anything.

'Hold the phone, I thought you were dead. Phil told us that you fell into the rapids,' Sully said flabbergasted.

Ted's smile dimmed a little and gestured to the man with chicken, 'Yeah, I did, but somehow I survived. Kadir fished me out of some river and took me to a hospital.'

'And now he follows you around?' Sully asked confused. Ted leant forward as if trying to shield Kadir from what he was about to say.

'I have no idea how to get rid of him. I once gave him some chicken and I think that was my downfall. Now he thinks that I'll always do it.'

Sully looked at the thin man and shrugged. It wasn't his place to question these things. He had met many strange people on his travels.

Ted straightened and looked around, a frown furrowing his brow. It seemed to pain him because he grunted and looked grim. He was about to speak but Nate beat him to it.

'What happened to your face?' he asked, slightly disappointed that Kadir had left and was now standing by the policeman in the blue beret. His hopes of getting something to eat dashed.

'From when the camp exploded in Uganda,' Ted explained, 'It still hasn't healed properly so don't be alarmed if my face starts dripping blood and pus.'

Nate didn't feel hungry so anymore.

'Was that necessary?' he asked.

'I saw the way you eyeing Kadir's chicken. You don't want to mess with him. He'll kill you. He likes his poultry,' Ted said, dead serious. 'By the way, where is Chloe and the others?'

Nate looked over at the rock that had amassed on one side of the platform. 'Somewhere in there.'

Ted did not look happy, 'What's the situation?'

Nate relayed the info as quickly and as detailed as he could. He told Ted of the two Spartoi, how Elena was missing and the radio conversation he had with Chloe and Barry and their plans to drive the Spartoi to the edge of the platform.

'So Chloe and this…Barry…should be heading over here?' Ted asked.

'They'll be here any minute providing nothing has happened, the Spartoi moved to that area not long after I spoke with her,' Nate said, he was itching to search for Elena. Minutes were sliding by and he hadn't even started.

Ted sensed his frustration but spoke as calmly as he could, 'We need to stick together. This place is going to collapse any minute now. You can't just go gallivanting off on your own.'

Nate wanted to disagree but his better judgement prevailed and he hung back, eyes raking the shadowy pathways that the boulders had created.

The Egyptian policeman tapped Ted on the shoulder.

'I've gathered the men. We need a plan to take out these…Spartoi,' the Egyptian hesitated on this alien word, concisely summing up that his knowledge on how to fight them was virtually nonexistent.

Ted nodded to Nate who filled the detective in. The Egyptian fell into deep thought.

'We need to draw them out of the area covered in boulders, it will be too hard to drive them anywhere there.'

The others agreed. Ted tapped his chin. 'Sully, go with Abid and take half the men. Set yourselves up on the clear side. See if you can find any survivors. Nate and I will take the others and try lure the Spartoi to where you are.'

Nate got the feeling that Ted had taken this role so he could find Chloe but couldn't blame the man and watched as Sully and Abid left.

Ted barked some orders and Nate was quickly handed a rifle and ammunition.

'You ready?' Ted asked.

Nate nodded.

They set off.

…

Chloe wasn't entirely sure how long she had been running but no matter which direction she went she couldn't leave the thick fog behind her.

Finally, she ran out of breath and stopped. Leaning against a rock she turned to check on the others only to find that there was no one there.

Crap.

Had she lost them? Chloe tried to run through what they had done when she had grabbed Elena's arm and hauled her away from the approaching Spartoi. Basically, they had just ran. Ran for their lives. The boulders formed a maze of pathways and in the bad lighting they could have easily separated.

She could retrace her steps but she didn't want to run into the Spartoi.

Chloe called out their names in desperation but no one replied.

This was not good at all.

…

'Do you hear that?' Ted asked, lowering his weapon.

Nate stopped, listened hard and nodded. It sounded like raised voices. The sound reverberated through the narrow passageways making it hard to tell where it was coming from.

It hadn't taken them long to realise that it would be impossible to search every path created by the rocks and had quickly decided to just head towards the thicker smoke. Ted had men clambering on top of the rocks as well as taking the pathways.

One of the men called out, saying that there was a clearing ahead.

The soldiers fanned out in front of them.

Nate and Ted hurried forwards and found themselves in an area of flattened boulders.

Two people stood in the middle arguing.

'How could we lose her?' a female voice said desperately, 'she was in front of us the whole time. Weren't you watching her? She has a bad leg for God's sake.'

'I'm not her babysitter, it was pretty hectic back there, what I want to know is how did we get back here?' a distinctly British accented man replied. He turned and noticing that he was surrounded by armed men, squeaked and held a backpack to his face in an attempt to hide. 'Don't shoot. We're the good guys.'

'I figured as much,' Ted grumbled lowering his weapon as Nate rushed passed him and grabbed hold of Elena, not caring that he was being watched.

'Ah, Nate, you're crushing me,' she managed to say but he didn't let go.

'Don't run off like that,' he muttered.

Elena didn't feel like arguing with Nate too, so just apologised instead of defending herself. To be honest she had been the only one to actually do anything pertaining to their original plan. Everyone else was wrestling.

'I feel like I need to get you a lead and collar so you stay put,' Nate said.

'This just got a bit kinky,' Barry said and Nate shoved him with an arm in humour while still holding Elena in the other.

It was at this point that Ted spoke up, 'You guys about done?'

Recognising the voice Elena turned, 'Ted? I thought you had died. Don't get me wrong though, I'm glad you're not. Barry, this is Ted, he helped us in Uganda.'

'Naw, I'm not dead yet,' Ted said with a smile and nodded at Barry, 'By the way, you guys haven't seen Chloe around have you?'

Elena grew sombre, 'Well, it's a long story,' she said and tried to get it over with double time.

When she had finished, Ted spoke, 'So basically, we have no idea where Chloe is and Phil is over there somewhere,' he pointed to a corner and Elena nodded

Ted was quiet for a moment as if deep in thought.

'Ok, here's the plan, you guys continue with the mission and I'll go find Chloe,' he said.

'Uh, didn't you want to stick together?' Nate asked. Ted stared at him.

'I need to find her before the Spartoi do.'

Nate caught the look in the other man's gaze and didn't question it. If he hadn't found Elena so soon he would've probably done the same.

'Ok, if you run into trouble use the radio,' Nate said. Ted nodded and turned to Elena.

'Which path did you guys take when you ran away from the Spartoi?'

Elena pointed to the same corner where Phil had been crushed and Ted headed over.

Nate and Elena watched as their friend ran off only to see him pause at the entrance to the pathway. He called out to them and they hurried over.

'What's the matter?' Elena asked. Ted pointed at the ground where a puddle of crimson blood adorned the stone. A crooked line of red spread out from one side of the liquid, as if someone had dipped a brush in it and was attempting to paint the floor. It headed into the pathway.

'I assume this is where Phil was,' Ted said. Barry and Elena nodded, both wondering how the portly man had the energy to drag himself anywhere.

Nate was thinking along the same lines and thought that there was a lot of blood. It would be tough to survive that, 'He couldn't have got far,' he said.

'Ok, if I find his body I'll tell you guys,' Ted said and without further ado followed the bloody trail.

When he disappeared from view, Nate headed towards the pathway that led into the thick cloying fog.

'We going into that?' Barry asked.

'Yup,' Nate said without turning back.

Barry swallowed audibly.

Elena patted his back, 'You'll be fine.'

Barry seriously doubted that.

…

Kadir had taken refuge behind the soldiers who were in position to lead the assault on the Spartoi when they appeared. The air was tense and the soldiers bristled with nervous energy.

The fisherman was glad he was in possession of his favourite comfort food but even chicken couldn't stop the growing sense of fear inside of him. He could hear the screams and gunfire of the soldiers who had gone with Ted as they tried to lure the Spartoi out.

He tugged the sleeve of the old man, 'Will we live?'

Sully didn't want to raise the little man's hope, 'You'd better savour that chicken, it's probably the last you'll ever eat.'

This is not what Kadir wanted to hear.

He settled down in his hiding space but only for a few minutes.

Kadir did not want to die and his mind was made.

With surprising agility, he shot out from his hiding space and sprinted to the heavy boulders. Head down, legs pumping furiously.

Here he knew he would be safe. Those demons would never see him here.

In the dark pathway, holding his fried chicken close, Kadir waited for a miracle to occur.

…

Chloe was getting irritated.

After several minutes she had found herself in an area where the smoke was thin and she could finally see more than a couple feet ahead. Unfortunately, she had not been able to locate Barry and Elena.

She had perched on a low boulder and rested. The adrenaline rush was over and now she was exhausted. All she needed was a couple minutes downtime. Sudden bursts of gunfire reminded her that she didn't have that luxury.

When the gunfire didn't stop and there was addition of grenades exploding, Chloe frowned. What on Earth was going on? She didn't think that there were enough people alive to make this much noise, but one thing was for sure. If she wanted to see another living soul again she should probably head over there.

Picking her weary body up, Chloe hobbled towards the commotion.

…

Nate realised they were running out of time. Thick cracks zigzagged across the floor and the ceiling continued to shed boulders. It wouldn't be long now till the whole chamber just gave up and collapsed.

He could picture it in his mind, the whole platform subsiding into the rushing water below.

Not a good way to go.

The soldiers sensed his unease but kept going and Nate was grateful they were here. It would definitely make things easier.

He didn't realise how close they were till he heard men scream to his left. The comm. unit squawked and crackled.

'_Contact far left! Contact far left!'_

Nate scrabbled up the nearest boulder and saw a giant arm sweep towards him. He ducked low and brought up his rifle, letting off a few rounds to get his attacker's attention but he already had it.

The silhouette became clearer as the creature came closer and Nate decided to get a move on. He pointed the rifle skywards as he ran, firing as he leapt from boulder to boulder in an effort to keep the Spartoi interested.

Elena and Barry saw the muzzle flashes move above them and joined in.

That was one Spartoi hooked but it was the other one that Nate worried about. He slipped on a jump and slammed a shin into the edge of a rock. His teeth gritted in pain as lights flashed in his eyes but kept going knowing full well what would happen if he didn't.

Nate supposed that as long as the second Spartoi didn't just appear in front of him, it would be ok. With this in mind he headed towards the waiting soldiers.

He hoped everything would go to plan.

There wouldn't be any second chances.

…

Chloe propped herself up on the rocky walls of the pathway. She still hadn't found anyone. The gunfire continued but her path seemed to be winding away from it. If only she could use her leg properly. Chloe slapped a hand against the boulder in frustration, drinking in the muffled gunshots and muted shouts. Other than that it was pretty quiet and if Chloe wasn't experienced in this kind of thing she'd have probably curled up into a little ball till help arrived.

Dull thuds of footsteps broke the eerie quiet. Chloe's ears pricked up and she raised her pistol. The sound was coming from behind her. Somebody was approaching. A few seconds more and they would round the corner that was currently hiding her.

Chloe squeezed herself into a narrow crevice where two boulders met and hoped that the lingering smoke and shadows would do the rest. The adrenaline was pumping once again and Chloe didn't even realise that she was holding her breath.

The steps rose in volume and she could just make out a person's shadow growing larger through the gap. Hoping that she had timed this right, Chloe swung the butt of her gun out hoping to make contact with her stalker's face and stepped out from her hiding place.

Her plan worked and the gun thwacked the assailant's face, who cursed in pain and lunged for her. A short scuffle ensued which Chloe struggled to win. Soon the attacker, who turned out to be a man, had an arm around her waist, arms pinioned uselessly to her side and a gun to her throat.

Chloe was going to head-butt the man but thought against it and as she calmed down, she realised who she was looking at.

'Oh,' she said, 'it's you.'

…

Sully perked up when he heard the sound of gunfire drawing close. A mass of roiling shadow was heading towards them. Every now and then an inhuman limb extended out and smashed its way through the rock.

It would be happening soon now.

Abid the Egyptian detective seemed to think so too and tersely relayed orders over the radio. Sully admired his nerve and readied himself. He hefted the RPG that had been loaned to him and found a perch on a high boulder that gave him clearance so he wouldn't hit any of the soldiers.

Without warning there was a colossal eruption of rock and a Spartoi burst forth from the boulder strewn part of the platform. Sully could make out soldiers running around, trying to avoid the Spartoi's steps and desperately trying not to get caught between it and the edge of the platform.

It was time. The contingent of soldiers in front of Sully ran forward guns chattering. Sully looked out for Nate and the others but in the following confusion and activity couldn't make anything out.

Sully noticed the Spartoi turn in their direction. It was still for a moment, as if pondering what the consequences of the raging mob hurtling towards him could be. A belt of grenades flew out to greet him, they bounced off his massive frame and exploded.

The giant being staggered backwards and the soldiers urged that momentum on, continuing with their assault. Sully fired a rocket, a sensation of triumph coursing through him as it hit. Acrid smoke filled his nose but he hadn't felt this good in a long time. For an old timer he wasn't so bad at this. He loaded another missile.

Blinded by the flashes of guns and grenade fire, the Spartoi retreated a little further onto the unstable rock that preceded the long fall into the waters below. As hoped, the ground gave way the Spartoi began to lose its balance. Sensing that it was now or never, Sully tagged it with a final rocket.

The Spartoi teetered on the edge and then tumbled into the rapids, its inhuman roars soundless against the backdrop of rushing water.

Sully put down his weapon and hurried over to the edge where he peered over just to make sure. The water swallowed the Spartoi without mercy and Sully knew that Ted was extremely lucky to be alive.

The soldiers cheered, praised God and high fived but Sully knew it wasn't over yet. There was still another Spartoi lumbering around. He found Nate, Elena and Barry catching their breath on the side.

'Uh, where are Chloe and Ted?' Sully asked, 'If they're off canoodling somewhere, this really isn't the time. And I'm pretty sure there were two Spartoi.'

'Jealous, old man?' Nate asked with a grin. Sully frowned but was pleased to see that they had found Elena and Barry.

'Nothing but criticism, where's the thanks?' Barry shook his head, glad that the dangerous bit was over for now. Maybe he would just sit the next one out. Elena shot him a look as if she had read his mind and Barry picked up his rifle meekly and sighed.

'We lost Chloe, Ted went to find her,' Elena explained to Sully, 'the other Spartoi obviously wasn't taken with our ruse.'

There was a sudden bellow and everyone turned to look at a smaller but still formidable smokescreen that was moving around the boulders in the distance.

Two figures came sprinting out of the rubble at top speed towards them.

'Hey, that looks like Chloe and Ted,' Barry said squinting to see through the persistent haze, 'I think they're holding hands. Awww…ain't that cute.'

If Barry had looked properly he would have noticed that Ted was literally dragging Chloe out of danger and not just holding hands like it was a casual date

Sully rolled his eyes. He knew they'd been canoodling. Nothing like a life or death situation to get all those emotions out. All these young people were the same.

'It doesn't look like they're alone either,' Elena muttered, loading her rifle. Nate did the same and Sully went to fetch his RPG.

The band of heroes watched as a figure emerged behind their two friends. It towered over them, following doggedly, arms outstretched like a small child chasing a toy car.

The second Spartoi was on its way.

* * *

**Another terrible spelling mistake…contact far left began as contact fart left…that is not a proper direction…this is what happens when you forget a word in a sentence and insert them without looking properly…**

**Never insert without checking …I smile as I write this…I apologise for my immaturity…I deserve those Happy Meals lol…**

**Due to my laziness, I decided to split this part into two chapters instead of having a mega long one…**

**I said I would stop with the chicken but I couldn't for these chapters…sorry…for now it is integral to the plot…sort of…**

**I think I know how this but is going to end but there is one problem that isn't sorted out and that is how Ted gets the money for the surgery…lol…I'll deal with that later…**

**Thanks for reading and everything…I appreciate it**

**I could have finished this off really quickly but I didn't...sorry...  
**

** Most of all thanks for your patience…I am bad at updating and tend to long things out...  
**


	27. Finally

**I will be going back to uni in a few weeks so my updating will be slow…but I will try and get as much as I can done...**

**I didn't mention Barry's broken nose in the last chapter because I completely forgot about it…whoops**

**In the last chapter a Spartoi was killed off, Ted went to find Chloe and the others did stuff…**

* * *

Chapter 26

Phil's nose twitched.

He was pretty sure that he was dead.

Otherwise, the smell didn't make sense.

Only in heaven would it smell like fried chicken.

…

Ted thought he deserved more than an 'Oh.'

A smile, a hug, a kiss? Was that too much for a guy to ask for?

Ted sighed inwardly, evidently, since he had just been clobbered in the face.

His face seemed to say this because Chloe scowled at him, 'I thought you were dead. I moved on.'

'It's only been an hour,' Ted replied, a little bit alarmed.

'That's enough time.'

Ted thought that this was ultra cold. Despite her chilly expression, he hadn't let her go but had lowered his gun. A few seconds passed and then Chloe's face darkened.

'Hold on, how did you know it's only been an hour?' she asked.

'Um, it was a wild guess. It wasn't as if I was watching you guys waiting for the right time to intervene or anything,' Ted said lamely.

Chloe struggled in his grip, anger levels on the rise.

'So you knew perfectly well what the situation was? You were there when Phil told us you had died? You let me think you were dead! Bloody fool I was. I had a minor emotional breakdown just because you thought it wasn't 'the right time to intervene'. I cried for you,' she shouted and slapped him good and proper on the bandaged side of his face.

Ted nearly blacked out from the explosion of pain but managed to hold it together. 'Please,' he chocked the words out, 'you can hit me all you want, but just not on that side of the face.'

Chloe eyes widened as the bandage quickly turned red, 'Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I thought it was just a little cut or something.'

She put her hands on his face, his skin warm beneath her chilled fingertips. She was annoyed that he had put her through complicated emotions but she couldn't truly be angry at him because he was alive and that made her very relieved. Chloe was getting frustrated at the way this man affected her.

Even though it had been painful Ted was actually quite pleased with everything that had happened, 'Did you actually mean what you said?'

Chloe looked at him questioningly.

'Did you really cry?'

Chloe regretted letting her anger get the better of her and grumbled something under her breath, avoiding his gaze as she did so.

'Sorry, I didn't quite catch that,' Ted said, milking the situation for all that it was worth.

Chloe sighed in defeat. What the heck? She might as well give the man something.

'It was like one tear drop. It was really small,' she lied.

Ted grinned.

It didn't matter if it was one tear drop or none at all, the fact Chloe felt any emotion at his death was good enough for him.

…

Kadir stared at the man lying on the floor.

It struck him that he should probably change jobs. He seemed to be better at finding unconscious white men than fish at the moment. After reaching the labyrinthine pathways, Kadir had quickly become lost, so spent his time wondering around the boulders looking for a way out, while munching on chicken.

He saw a trail of blood lead up to the body and winced. The man's leg was a mess. A big bloody pulpy mess. It seemed as though the man had dragged himself here and then passed out. Since this was the only overweight person he had seen so far, Kadir assumed that this was the bad man that Ted had told him about.

Kadir spat a bone at the body's feet. He did not like bad people.

Pausing for a moment he looked a little closer. The man looked more dead than alive.

Kadir was just about to check for a wallet when the man's nose twitched. He quickly shrank back from the body, holding the tub of food close.

It looked like the man was waking up and Kadir wondered what he should do. His decision was made for him when the floor began to shake and in the distance he could hear continued explosions and crashes. A few more rocks fell from the ceiling.

With the swiftness of someone who had done this before, Kadir patted down the man's pockets and swiped a wallet before scampering away to safety.

If he was going to a leave a man for dead, Kadir thought he might as well get rich doing it.

…

Chloe stepped away from Ted as the chamber ceiling shed more boulders.

'We need to get out of here,' she shouted over the deafening roar.

Ted agreed, already missing their close proximity. God help him, he was a love struck fool.

The imminent death that threatened them all dampened these feelings somewhat and he dived out of the way of some rubble. Chloe had no such trouble and was rather glad that she had some breathing space. It was better for everyone if she just kept thinking of survival. Anything else would make her a liability and Chloe had no intentions of winning the useless female of the adventure award.

From the sound of the explosions, Ted guessed that the others had found the Spartoi and were starting their attack. He relayed this to Chloe as they hurried to find somewhere that wasn't falling apart.

They eventually made it to the clearing where Phil had been crushed. Ted stopped for a moment to give Chloe time to catch her breath but Chloe wasn't having any of it.

'You don't need to stop for me. I'm fine,' she said testily. Ted was about to argue but she stopped him, 'We don't have time for this. This place isn't going to last much longer.'

The floor started to shake as if to prove her point.

Ted wasn't happy but she was right. As if to make things worse, the far left side of the clearing slowly disappeared from view as a grey smog descended over it.

'I don't think the plan with the Spartoi worked,' Chloe quipped, steeling herself for another sprint. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take. Ted grunted in response and fired his gun at the smoke. Chloe looked at him in alarm.

'Are you trying to get us killed?' she hissed. Ted turned to her.

'We need to make sure we get its attention,' he explained calmly. Chloe wished she had his confidence. With fifty men this might have worked, but it was only them two.

The smoke was now heading in their direction.

Ted grabbed Chloe's hand and started to run.

…

Phil pried his eyes open and blinked.

It appeared that he wasn't dead and he wondered if he had just dreamt about fried chicken.

This wouldn't have surprised him.

The pain hit him when he tried to sit up. Dizziness and nausea fought for his attention. His stomach gave out and he dry retched on his side.

Phil gave himself a few minutes. He wondered how he had survived. Surely he would have bled to death by now but he supposed it wasn't the time to ask these questions and decided that getting out of here was his main priority. Wherever here was.

But then that he noticed the lingering smell.

He hadn't dreamt it.

His nose had never failed him before. Beyond the smell of dust and rock there were motes of something lighter…sweeter…

There was definitely fried chicken close by.

Not caring if he died trying to get there, Phil dragged himself towards the source of the heady scent with laboured breaths.

…

Nate watched as his friends rushed from the shelter of the boulders with a Spartoi in hot pursuit.

This was not good. The soldiers weren't in the right position. They were scattered between him and the edge of the platform, still celebrating their victory over the first Spartoi.

Abid, the Egyptian detective, did not look happy, 'This is a mess,' he said flatly. Nate couldn't agree more and gathered his friends in a circle. Elena stood to his side, muddied and bruised but unharmed. Sully stood to his other side with the RPG and Barry opposite with his broken nose. They were a rag tag bunch but he believed in them. They could do this. It was just a matter of luck. Something he seemed to have an on-off relationship with. Nate seriously hoped he was in the 'on' phase.

'Ok, we need to drive the Spartoi to the edge by ourselves. Since no one is in the right place to do this, we will lure it to the edge ourselves and hope it's weight causes the ground to break. What weapons do we have?' Nate explained quickly.

Abid pointed to a crate behind them. 'We have some plastic explosives and a few more grenades,' he said.

Sully didn't look convinced.

'The rocks are really weak there, we might all go down,' he voiced his concerns.

'What if the ground _doesn't_ collapse? We're gonna be stuck there with an angry Spartoi,' Barry asked in a blocked nose kind of way.

Chloe and Ted were fast approaching.

'Hopefully, none of that will happen,' Nate said and ran off to collect the remaining weapons.

'Well that was reassuring,' Barry said sarcastically.

'We've survived worse,' Sully replied in an attempt to encourage the young man.

The Spartoi swept an arm at their two friends. It narrowly missed.

'Really?' Barry asked, hoping for a positive answer.

The Spartoi howled. Sully went gray, 'No.'

Barry thought as much.

…

Ted felt a rush of cold air as the Spartoi lunged for them.

Adrenaline coursed through his system, providing all the energy he needed to get the hell out of there and then some.

He dared not let go of Chloe's hand but he didn't need to bother.

With a surprising burst of speed, Chloe sped forward and took over.

She still hadn't let go of his hand, even if it was probably more of a hindrance.

It was a small comfort to Ted who wasn't sure if they could outrun a Spartoi. Considering that roar it had just let loose, it was very close.

The next time it attacked it would reach them.

Ted was waiting for the blow but the chatter of automatic gun fire filled the chamber, the Spartoi, momentarily distracted, slowed down.

Chloe and Ted took this opportunity to change direction and hurl themselves behind some rocks.

The Spartoi turned back only to find his quarry had disappeared. It didn't matter though. The flashing lights in the distance held the promise of something more interesting. It loped off and Chloe watched its back grow smaller. She collapsed against the rock, breathing hard.

'You can let go now, you know,' Ted said. He was sitting next to her, panting. His head was swimming from the lack of oxygen and his muscles cramped with lactic acid. He really needed to exercise more.

Chloe did and Ted wished he hadn't said anything. 'I didn't even realise I was still holding on,' she said truthfully, 'I was just running for my life and wasn't thinking about anything else.'

All romantic thoughts dashed, Ted sighed, he let his head fall back, eyes closed, it felt good to be safe though, 'I really can't catch a break with you, can I?'

'No,' Chloe said in a matter-of-fact voice which made Ted smile.

He opened his eyes and watched as Chloe stood.

'How is it going?'

Chloe squinted. Her reply didn't surprise him.

'Not good.'

…

Nate knew as soon as he reached the edge that the plan wasn't going to work.

The last Spartoi had taken the weaker rocks with it and while the new edge was nowhere near stable, it definitely would not collapse with the weight of the Spartoi alone.

Soldiers shouted in the confusion that the smoke brought. This confirmed that the Spartoi was close. Nate stared down at the swirling rapids, deep in thought. He closed his eyes for a moment.

It was time to do something reckless.

…

Elena could just make out the dark form of the Spartoi as it raced after them.

She could also just barely make out the edge which she had nearly stepped over a few moments ago.

It worried her a little that she hadn't seen Nate for a while. She hoped he was ok, since that was all she could do at the moment.

The Spartoi tried to grab her but she rolled out of the way.

She spied Nate running a few feet from the edge. She caught him up and didn't like the look on his face.

'What are you doing?' she asked. Nate was quiet for a moment, ducked down and set down some C4 with a remote timer.

'I have a plan,' he said.

Elena knew that he was being vague because he thought she wouldn't agree with it. They ran a few meters on and Nate repeated the steps of placing and setting the explosive.

This continued for a while and then Nate turned to the edge and made to climb down. At this point Elena had had enough.

'What the hell are you doing?'

Nate paused, 'Look, I need to set up these explosives. This plan is dangerous and I need time. Stay back from the edge and make sure everyone knows what's going on and are distracting the Spartoi.'

He didn't give her time to answer and climbed down.

Elena waited a moment after he had disappeared from view. She got the feeling that somehow this wasn't the dangerous bit.

She was right.

…

By the time Chloe and Ted reached the fray, everyone was trying their hardest to gain the Spartoi's attention.

Chloe frowned, 'Is there actually a plan here?'

Sully stopped by after firing a RPG rocket at the creature. 'Nate's doing something with C4 and told us to distract the Spartoi till he's finished.'

Chloe didn't like the vagueness of the situation but since Ted had already joined in, she thought she might as well. At any rate, she trusted Nate's judgement. He seemed to be good at getting out of impossible situations.

With her last remnants of energy, Chloe ran into the smoke guns blazing.

…

Nate realised that it was much calmer here below the carnival above. He shimmied along a ledge placing more C4.

If he was right and more importantly lucky, then when these explosives went off at the same time the section of platform would subside into the water. Thus ridding themselves of the pesky Spartoi.

The problem was how to get the Spartoi in the perimeter he had set out without many people being in it at the same time.

Well, he would cross that bridge when he got to it.

He clambered back up to the platform to see his friends shouting and shooting the remaining Spartoi. It didn't seem to be in control of the situation and lashed out angrily whenever somebody got too close. This had evidently happened a few times and as Nate stepped over the bodies of fallen soldiers, he wondered how he could get the Spartoi to move to the edge.

Guns wouldn't scare it enough to push it back near the edge. Bullets didn't pose a threat and grenades did nothing but startle it. Nate knew that it wouldn't be long till the Spartoi wised up to this.

He could see it happening now. The Spartoi was becoming a little more daring. Swatting away grenades and generally pushing the humans back.

At this moment Nate saw a pile of rubble alongside the Spartoi. It reached the warrior's shoulders.

He hoped it wouldn't come to this but it seemed that he was out of options.

Nate ran into the haze.

…

Barry wasn't sure what was going on. He had long since run out of ammunition and was reduced to just hurling rocks at the Spartoi and dodging its clumsy attacks.

He had just picked himself up off the floor for the tenth time when he thought he saw something clinging on to the Spartoi's back.

It looked a lot like a person.

…

When Elena turned to face the creature's back she did not expect the father of her unborn child to be hanging off it.

Ted rolled into view and his eyes widened, 'Does he know what he's doing' he asked.

Elena could barely speak, 'I hope so,' she muttered but seriously doubted it. Nate never really knew what he was doing. Improvising was his forte.

Barry appeared huffing and puffing, 'Elena, I think I just saw the Spartoi giving Nate a piggy back ride.'

'I know,' she replied.

Elena watched as Nate wrapped his arms around the Spartoi's neck and braced his feet on its back. He pulled backwards, as if trying to choke the Spartoi and successfully made it stumble towards the C4.

Sully approached from behind with a grim expression on his face.

'Uh, Elena, Nate's doing something stupid.'

Elena sighed, 'I know. I think he's trying to get the Spartoi to back into the perimeter he marked out with C4.'

'That's not a bad idea,' Ted commented, 'there must be something we can do to help.'

'There's a good chance our bullets and grenades will get Nate too,' Sully said.

Chloe ran towards them and before she could speak Elena held up a hand. 'I know Nate is hanging on to that Spartoi.'

Chloe stopped and wheeled round, 'Really? I wasn't going to say that at all. Wow. Good for him. What I wanted to say was that I've managed to get most of the soldiers move away from the edge and the Spartoi. Now there is minimal loss of life when the C4 goes off,' Chloe glanced back at Nate, 'except for him of course.'

The group turned to her, 'That…that was actually quite good thinking,' Sully said and Chloe glared daggers at him. Ted smiled.

'Your lack of faith offends me,' she said, 'What have you been doing to help?'

Sully decided to tell the truth and shrugged, 'Just watching Nate.'

Chloe rolled her eyes but she had to admit, her friend was being a bit of a dare-devil. Hanging on the back of a Spartoi was very likely to get him killed.

They watched as the Spartoi shook itself to rid itself of its new found pest. Nate's body bounced around like a rag doll but he managed to keep his grip.

'This is like a really strange rodeo,' Barry said, wincing as the Spartoi tried to grab Nate who dodged by a finger's breadth.

'There must be something we can do,' Elena helplessly said. Nate had managed pull the Spartoi back so it was only a few steps from line of C4.

'If we all aim for its torso, we shouldn't hit Nate,' Ted said.

It wasn't much of a plan but Elena desperately wanted to do something so hurried towards the Spartoi with Ted.

'We should really go and help,' Chloe said after a while.

Sully looked at them, 'I gotta stay back here…the RPG doesn't work well when I'm too close.'

Chloe shook her head at him and grabbed Barry by the arm and went to join the others.

'Wait,' Barry said, 'I think I would be of more help to Sully. Y'know…as a look out.'

Chloe hit him without breaking stride and dragged him towards the last Spartoi.

Sully hefted the RPG to his shoulder and wondered if he would ever have a clear shot.

He didn't really feel like shooting Nate.

…

Nate was getting kind of dizzy.

The Spartoi's armour felt cold to the touch. Unnaturally so. Nate could swear his hands were burning. It was altogether a strange experience.

The Spartoi spun often, trying to dislodge him but Nate knew he couldn't afford to fall off. He was the only thing driving the creature back towards the edge of the platform.

It seemed though that the Spartoi was gaining the upper hand and it wouldn't be long now till the Spartoi just plucked him off like a blood sucking tick.

Nate decided to move on to plan B.

From over the Spartoi's shoulder he could make out the uneasy expressions of his friends. They approached with caution, letting off a few rounds to disorientate the Spartoi who now had to contend with them as well as Nate.

'What do we do?' Ted called up to him.

'Get everyone outta here,' Nate shouted and threw the remote for the C4 to Ted, 'I need you guys to detonate the explosives as soon as the Spartoi reaches the edge.'

'Why can't you do it yourself?' Elena asked with a sinking feeling in her gut.

'I'm going to be busy,' Nate said with a strange expression. Elena wasn't having any of this.

'Nathan Drake, get down from that Spartoi right this instant,' she ordered. The Spartoi growled and thumped a fist down on the group of heroes. They scattered.

'There isn't any time left, just do it,' Nate replied and made eye contact with Ted who nodded. He could trust Ted to do this. He understood what was at risk here.

Before his arms gave out finally, Nate pulled back hard on the Spartoi's neck, hoicking it's head back. The creature teetered backwards a couple steps.

Nate felt a sweat break out on his forehead.

Just a few more meters.

…

'This isn't going to work,' Elena said quickly.

The others could see that she was right. The Spartoi was correcting its balance and was about to right itself.

Nate was in big trouble. In fact they all were.

Just before the Spartoi managed to stand upright once again an RPG rocket screamed past and caught the Spartoi squarely in its chest.

It staggered backwards across the threshold of explosives.

Ted pressed the button.

…

Nate knew he was in big doo doo when the Spartoi failed to back up any further. It's next move would be to permanently get rid of him.

Then he heard it. The unforgettable sound of an RPG being fired.

Nate quickly let go of the Spartoi's back and tumbled to the rocky ground. He didn't give himself time to recover and rolled out of the way.

The rocket hit and the Spartoi let out a guttural roar and fell back.

Nate couldn't contain his grin and then turned to the annoying red light that was flashing next to his head where he still hadn't picked himself up off the floor.

Nate knew what this light was too.

It was the little red light that told him the package of C4 next to his head was armed and ready to go.

Crap.

…

Sully felt shaken.

He hoped he had done the right thing.

His hands shook as he dropped the RPG, not quite believing that he had shot the Spartoi with Nate still hanging on it.

But he hadn't had another choice. Right?

He saw Ted push the button in the distance and braced himself.

…

The force of the blast flung Chloe, Elena, Barry and Ted a good few meters in the air.

They landed with bone shuddering thuds.

The Spartoi was gone. The plan had actually worked.

Dust settled to reveal the new edge of the platform which consisted of a sharp incline towards the water. Nothing moved except for the final rocks which succumbed to gravity.

The soldiers watching from a distance surged forwards to search for survivors. Sully had managed to escape the brunt of the blast and helped. He hurried to his friends and found Elena first. He held her limp body in his arms and gently shook her awake and called her name.

Her eyes opened and as they focussed she asked, 'Where's Nate?'

Elena quickly sat up and looked around. Sully didn't really know how to answer.

'I don't know,' he said and as he turned to look at he was greeted by a slap in the face.

'You bastard! I can't believe you shot at Nate. How could you do that?'

Sully tried to defend himself, 'It was the only option. The Spartoi would have got to him otherwise.'

Elena lashed out at him again, anger alone providing her energy.

Chloe stumbled over and held her back. Elena fought this too, shrieking, as Sully watched helplessly.

Eventually the emotion died down and exhaustion took over. Elena's cries of anger subsided into sobs and Chloe comforted her best she could.

'Give it some time,' Chloe murmured, 'we haven't even looked for him yet. He's probably hanging on some ledge waiting to be saved.'

The words sounded hollow, even to Chloe.

Ted looked pale but held Sully's stricken gaze, 'You did the right thing,' he said.

Sully wondered if he would be ever able to convince himself of that.

…

Nate dangled from a piece of rock that jutted out from the side of the cliff that led to the rapids.

He wondered why no one had come to help him yet.

Maybe they thought he was dead.

Nate had to give them a point. Anyone else would have died.

As soon as he had seen the C4 he had sprinted off but as soon as the explosives had gone off the platform began to give way and he was carried off to the edge unwillingly.

Luckily a little ledge existed. The perfect size for grabbing hold of if you were to fall past it.

Nate thanked his lucky stars but would have been a little happier if there other rocks that could lead him back to the top again. But he supposed that was asking for a little much.

He called out hoping his voice wasn't drowned out by the rushing water below.

…

Elena's ears pricked up instantly.

She stopped crying and pushed away from Chloe.

'Did you hear that?' she asked.

Chloe frowned, 'No.'

'It sounded like Nate,' Elena said, setting off to the now crumbling edge.

The poor chamber had reached its limit and Ted knew that it would soon collapse for good. It had felt the blast of one too many explosions. It was time to get a move on.

It was impossible for any man to survive what had just happened and thought that Elena was just hearing things. He ran after her. He was not going to lose another friend. He would carry her out if her had to.

Barry tapped his chin thoughtfully even though the ground was shaking and car-sized boulders were falling from the ceiling.

'You know. I heard it too,' he said.

Chloe turned to him, 'Really?' she asked, sincerely wishing that her hopes were not being roused falsely. She didn't think she could take that.

Nate was meant to survive everything.

Barry nodded, 'Honest. It sounded like Nate. It's coming from the edge.'

They raced over.

…

When Nate was finally pulled up from his ledge, he thought that he would be given some time to grab a breath or two. Maybe a slap on the back. Words of admiration.

Apparently that would not be happening. He hadn't so much as held Elena's hand before he was being pushed forward by Ted, who told him the chamber was going to collapse and they all had to get out of there double time.

Nate was rather grateful he hadn't stopped. It would be a bit rubbish if he survived all those explosions just to get squashed by a giant rock.

The group hurried to the back of the chamber and out through one of the tunnels where Abid was waving to them.

Abid stopped Ted as the others rushed forwards.

'You got everyone?' he asked the American. Ted nodded and then quickly frowned.

'Kadir?'

Abid pushed Ted out of the way of a falling boulder. The two men set off up the tunnel. 'I sent him out ages ago. He should be at the surface already. He still has that infernal bucket of chicken with him.'

Despite everything that had happened, the many lives lost and the people harmed, Ted found himself smiling.

…

Phil felt the tremors in the ground and nearly cried with relief as he reached the entrance of one of the tunnels.

He wasn't sure how he had managed to drag himself this far without passing out again. He supposed he had whoever had brought that chicken to thank.

He crawled further and without much warning the tunnel sealed itself up. Phil sighed. At least he was safe now.

Maybe it was time for a rest. He hadn't noticed how tired he was.

Giving in to exhaustion, Phil lay his head on an arm and closed his eyes.

…

The evening sun made Nate squint.

He couldn't believe it. They had done it.

He had an arm around Elena and fried chicken in another.

This was the life. Covered in dirt, eating fast food with the woman he loved. Most importantly they were all alive.

The tunnels had led slowly upwards towards a modern day sewer where they were able to climb up through a manhole to the surface.

Chloe stood next to them, 'This is probably the longest adventure we've ever been on. It dragged on and on.' She sighed heavily and drank some water and then paused.

'What happened to Phil?' she asked.

Ted joined them, 'I think it's safe to assume he's dead.'

'But what about your niece's surgery?' Elena said.

Ted grinned, 'Well, Kadir found Phil's wallet in the rubble. He must have dropped it at some point, it still contained the cheque he wrote out to me when we signed the original contract.'

Barry whistled, 'That was a stroke of luck.'

Nate was quiet for a moment, 'I wonder what happened to the jawbone and teeth.'

Elena pointed at the backpack that Barry was holding.

'Blimey,' he said, 'I forgot I was even carrying this thing.' He emptied the contents and the group huddled over to get a better look.

Sully hadn't said anything so far and took this as an opportunity to talk to Nate.

'What's up old timer?' Nate asked, full of good cheer. Sully looked out of sorts and Nate felt his smile dim. 'What's wrong?'

'Ah, Nate, I feel bad about shooting you-,' Sully began but never got to finish. Nate put a hand on Sully's shoulder.

'Look. You did what you thought was right. And to be honest I would have done the same thing. Any of us would. We would all be dead if you hadn't pulled the trigger.'

Sully wasn't so sure but felt a little better. Things could have gone very differently. He finally lit the cigar he had been saving all this time and pondered a few things.

Now that the danger had passed it seemed like a great weight had been lifted. It felt good to be alive and Chloe couldn't help but feel a little disgruntled at the fact she would have to deal with her feelings for Ted now. Or, as she caught sight of the hotel across the street, they could just leave that for later.

Chloe stared at the hotel. Ted stared at the hotel. Chloe looked at Ted and Ted looked at Chloe.

They walked off together.

The group was quiet for a moment.

'Huh,' Sully commented, 'I didn't see that one coming so soon.'

Nate stared after them wondering if he was in for something similar.

'I can't wait for a hot shower and a clean bed. I could sleep for a week,' Elena said. Nate muttered something that sounded a lot like 'figures'.

Sully chewed on his cigar, 'You want a drink?' he asked Nate.

The younger man shook his head, 'I'll take a rain check,' and followed Elena who had already started towards the hotel.

Sully grunted and turned to Barry, 'What about you?'

'My nose is broken. I think I need to go to a hospital,' Barry replied. Sully shook his head and looked at the last man standing there.

'You even drink?' Sully asked.

Kadir shook his head.

'Thought so,' Sully muttered and then took a second look at the bucket of chicken. His stomach rumbled.

'I wouldn't mind some of that thought,' he said.

Kadir nodded with a knowing smile and led the way.

* * *

**FINALLY…it took way too long to finish off the past….it wasn't even that good…but at least it's done…sorry for dragging it out...  
**

**A recap of the past...a dragon jawbone with some teeth were found...the heroes found a cave in Uganda and some scrolls...Chloe got shot in the leg and Ted did some minor sugery...Elena mounted a rescue and saved her friends...the group headed to Egypt with a pilot who sang Hakuna Matata and thought mangoes were called mongoes...they spent some days in a jungle...we learnt about Elena's parents and Nate's misadventures in their kitchen...after the jungle they travelled in an ice cream van and then a hovercraft...at some point they eventually made it to Sudan where they picked up a British man called Barry...Ted was made an offer in a toilet and then fell down to his presumed death...and then there was the rocky ramp...and the heroes stole a helicopter and landed at the pyramids...**

**If you remembered all this stuff well done...it was a really long time ago...**

**I still need to finish off the present...the third game will be out by the time I am done with this lol  
**

**Thanks for reading this far…**


	28. Shotgun

**Sorry this was delayed…I moved back to uni …toasters and microwaves are a lot more expensive than what I remember them being lol**

**A month ago I turned 20 and looking back I realised that I started this when I was 18…wow…I have been taking my time…it doesn't feel like it's been that long to me but maybe it has to you guys who have had to wait for me…I'm sorry…I will finish this before I am 21…..promise…maybe 22 lol**

**I am so late with this chapter that Uncharted 3 has actually come out lol…has anyone got it yet? Any good? I would have bought it already if it weren't for my lousy student budget lol**

**Huh…no longer a teenager…I should grow up…if I actually did that this story would suddenly become very boring..it probably already is lol…I relied greatly on my characters being very stupid lol...and people who talk to monkeys**

**In the last chapter the past was dealt with and everyone was happy…in the last present-day chapter…the crew found out that somebody had stolen Nate's son and it looked like the culprit might be Phil. Who am I kidding…it was definitely Phil…**

* * *

Chapter 27

_Present day_

Phil stared at the baby before him. It was crying loudly.

If it wasn't for the fact that the baby was integral to the plot Phil would have probably thrown it into the sea by now.

No matter what he did the thing just refused to shut up. Phil stomped off to the end of the jetty wishing that the boat that was meant to pick them up arrived early. Even here the calming sound of waves lapping against the aged wood was drowned out by that annoying brat.

There was nothing he could do but get as far away as he could from the tiny human.

Things were going according to plan though. So far the only resistance they had come up against was some lax airport security but they had been dealt with easily.

Phil also had the location of the final jawbone. A location only he knew about. It was unfortunate that Nathan Drake held the last piece of the puzzle. Phil would have much preferred to do this without involving him. Drake had a nasty habit of thwarting his plans. Phil, understandably, did not like this but it was a risk he was forced to take.

This time Phil had something that would guarantee his success and Drake's compliance.

He had his son. The perfect bargaining chip.

…

Ted took off his headset and looked at his friends who had assembled in the cramped cockpit.

'We have a problem,' he said finally.

Sully raised an eyebrow, 'We got several of those already.'

The others looked at Ted expectantly. He cleared his throat.

'It seems that we don't have clearance to land at any airport in Turkey.'

The group took a moment to absorb this information.

'Why not?' Barry asked nervously eyes darting around the room.

'Apparently, this plane is owned by a certain British man who-,' Ted didn't get to finish as Barry lost his composure.

'I'm sorry! I didn't know this was going to happen. I thought they had forgiven me. It was a giant misunderstanding. Please don't hate me.'

'Barry, what the hell are you talking about?' Chloe cut in. Barry calmed down a little and took a breath.

'A couple of years ago I went to a state dinner with my dad. It was held by the Turkish prime minister. During the starters, I dropped my fork and it happened to land right under the prime minister's wife's chair and I definitely did not look up her skirt while getting it back and when the wife dropped her spoon and caught me head between her legs trying to reach my fork the prime minister just assumed the worst. To be honest I don't think the wife minded all that much.'

There was silence as everyone digested this interesting piece of information.

'Huh,' Sully said wondering whether he should believe this. Chloe meanwhile wondered why people couldn't keep a hold of their cutlery during a meal.

'Yeah, the man on the radio said this plane was owned by a British man who was an international terrorist,' Ted said finally, inadvertently creating a very awkward moment for Barry who froze, aware that everyone was staring at him. Not kindly either.

There was a sudden explosion outside the cockpit window. The floor shook a little. In the cabin a few over-head lockers were thrown open. Barry relaxed a little now that the attention wasn't all on him.

'Oh yeah,' Ted continued, 'The authorities also said they would blow us out of the sky if we didn't leave their air space.'

Chloe looked at him, 'Don't you think that was a bigger problem than having nowhere to land?'

Ted struggled with the controls, 'Well I didn't want to send everyone into a wild panic.'

'How thoughtful of you,' Chloe muttered darkly and strapped herself into a seat, a picture of calm, but her eyes were rapidly searching for parachutes. She took a moment to glare evilly at Barry as he scrambled past to a seat.

'Isn't this is a tad bit overboard. He just peeked at some woman's underwear. It's hardly a crime,' Sully grumbled, finding his way back to the plush lounge.

Chloe glared at him from the cockpit, 'It is most definitely a crime, you perverted old man.'

Another explosion rocked the small space.

'We're all going to die!' Barry cried out in despair. He ran up and down the cabin till Miguel grabbed his shoulders and slapped him.

'Get a grip,' he said and took the controls from a surprised Ted, 'If there is anyone out here who can land a plane without a runway…it's me.'

'Oh God, we _are_ going to die,' Chloe said, closing her eyes as images of a plane crashed into the canopy of a rainforest popped into her head. She gripped the armrests. Was it bad that she could barely remember the last time she had gone up in a plane and landed on a real runway before?

Nate had been quiet this whole time unable to understand how they had gotten into yet another situation with air transportation. He had been brooding, thinking about his son and Phil but those thoughts had been quickly pushed aside when they started to get shot at.

'What are our options?' he asked Ted.

Ted looked grim, 'We are well into their territory, we could head to either Bulgaria or Greece but it will add a day or so to our trip.'

This did not appeal to Nate, Ted saw this and carried on, 'Or we could try an ocean landing….'

Nate and Chloe looked at Miguel and then at each other again, both thinking similar thoughts. That guy was crazy and while he could land in trees they weren't so sure about seas.

'I don't think that's going to work either,' Nate said hurriedly hoping that Miguel hadn't heard.

The plane suddenly tilted sharply and Nate found himself falling into a control panel. Ted grabbed a hold of Chloe's chair and managed to stay put.

'What hell are you doing?' he shouted at Miguel who was wrestling with the jet to keep it steady.

'We've been hit,' the African said.

There was another scream in the cabin as Barry lost all hope again. This was shortly followed by another slapping sound as Miguel unbuckled his belt, went over to the Brit and hit him again. Miguel went back to his seat and resumed failing to control the plane.

Nate struggled over to where Sully was sitting, 'Are there any parachutes?'

Sully shook his head and went a little pale. If Nate was asking for the parachutes then they were definitely in trouble.

The crew felt an unpleasant feeling as the one end of the plane tipped down in a nose dive.

Nate sat in a seat, closed his eyes, took a breath and put all his faith in a pilot who crashed planes more often than landed them.

…

Elena opened her eyes.

She had been asleep. Exhaustion seeped from every muscle and Elena wondered how she had even woken up at all.

The Egyptian policeman was sitting in an old visitor's chair. He looked over when he saw her move.

'You should rest some more. Your son is not the only one who has undergone surgery,' he said in a kindly voice.

Elena let her head sink into pillow, recounted the last few hours. She had talked to Nate and then waited. Waited for something. Anything. Any clue about what had happened to her son. Minutes flowed into hours and the nurses came to tell her to rest. She had finally given in after hearing nothing. Elena promised herself that she would nap only for an hour and then she would find her son. She had broken that promise. She had slept for a few hours extra.

It felt somehow wrong that she should be sleeping when her son was missing. She felt like she should be doing something. Turning over every street, every building till they found her child.

Elena asked the policeman for any updates and he hesitated before speaking.

'We found the van that the kidnapper used,' he said. Elena instantly sat up and regretted it as a wave if dizziness coursed through her. She should probably eat something. 'It was empty, but there were some wrappers from medical equipment. Tape, gloves that sort of thing. There was no blood.'

Elena didn't know whether to be relieved or worried upon hearing this. 'Do you have any idea where they went?' she asked.

'The van was found at a private air strip. Apparently the only traffic today has been a helicopter that left with four men and a baby.'

Elena was acutely aware of her heart beating faster, 'And? Where was it going? We should go after it.'

The policeman put a hand on her shoulder and eased her back onto the bed. Elena hadn't even realised that she was getting out of it in her excitement. 'They are heading to one of the coastal towns. Where they could get a boat to the Greek islands. I have alerted the airport authorities there. Resources are even more depleted than usual because a known enemy of Turkey is currently invading our airspace. The authorities have their priorities.'

Elena didn't think anything could be more important than retrieving her son, 'But they will arrest them, right?. They will find my son?'

The policeman assured them that they would. The helicopter was due to arrive soon. The guards would be ready.

After a while Elena frowned, 'Who is this enemy?'

The policeman shrugged, 'Some terrorists or some such. Don't worry about it. They will be dealt with soon.'

…

Sully chewed on cigar, deep in thought.

Chloe sat next to him, shaken but more importantly, alive.

The on-going swaying motion had Barry leaning over the edge, hand over mouth.

Not far from him, Miguel emptied a boot filled with water, he did this with grin that stretched from ear to ear. He couldn't wait to tell his mum about this.

Ted held a hand to his forehead and squinted into the horizon which consisted of nothing more than a blue sky and an even bluer sea.

'What are you looking for?' Nate asked.

'The fighter jets saw us go down, they'll be sending the boats soon,' Ted explained grimly, 'Got a plan?'

Nate managed a faint smile, 'When have I ever had a plan?'

Ted returned the smile and went over to sit by Chloe. At that moment, just watching them them both, Nate felt a pang of jealousy. He supposed he should feel happy, relieved even. Miguel had actually landed the plane in the sea without killing anyone and now here they were sitting on top a slowly sinking luxury jet.

Frustration welled up inside of Nate like pain does when you stub a toe against a heavy inanimate object. It builds for a while before passing like nothing had ever happened. For Nate the frustration gave way to misery. He just wanted this to be over.

'So who was this international terrorist?' Sully asked Barry.

'What?'

'Ted said that this plane was owned by a terrorist.'

'Oh, well it _was_ owned by one. The British government captured him recently and sold off all his stuff. My dad bought the jet. I suppose the Turkish authorities haven't found this out yet,' Barry said as if this were completely normal.

Chloe scowled, 'And you thought that peeking at the prime minister's wife's undies was the reason they were shooting rockets at us?' She shook her head in disbelief and Ted smiled.

Barry shrugged, 'I wasn't thinking straight.'

'Clearly,' Chloe muttered sarcastically and then grimaced when she noticed that the water level was significantly higher than it was a few minutes ago. She nudged Ted. 'I hope there's a plan. I don't know how much longer we have,' she whispered as to not agitate Barry who was sensitive about impending death.

'Well, I'm hoping that the authorities are sending boats to pick us up,' Ted replied.

'By 'pick up' you mean capture, don't you?' Chloe grumbled and then sighed at Ted's nod.

Miguel stood silently and pointed. Five pairs of eyes looked out to sea.

'They're coming,' Miguel said with dramatic finality.

In the distance a ship was just about visible. As it became closer its shape became more apparent. Ted noticed the canons mounted on the side while Chloe took in the giant revolving satellite sitting atop the bridge. Barry got distracted by the fact that his toes were now submerged in water. Sully saw that a smaller boat had been deployed and was approaching fast. Nate was silent. Miguel, when the boat full of soldiers pulled up beside them and pointed their guns at him, waved happily. They looked uncertainly at each other but their captain barked an order and the men focussed once again on the small band of heroes.

While they were being herded onto the boat, Chloe looked to Nate for a signal that would inevitably lead to a short scuffle and a liberated boat but it didn't come. To her Nate looked rather resigned. This was not good. Since their main decision maker was out of action Chloe took it upon herself to save the group and tackled the soldier in front of her.

The rest of the group, glad that something had started to happen, joined in. Soon there were six soldiers in the sea and a newly crewed boat powering away to land. With a final glug the tail of the luxury jet disappeared beneath the waves.

Barry got the feeling he was going to be in a lot of trouble when he got home.

…

The policeman frowned at his phone. Elena watched, chewing at her lip.

'Is everything all right?' she asked.

The policeman looked up, his brow still furrowed, 'I was talking to a colleague …it seems there was a shooting at the airport where the helicopter was due to land.'

Elena's blood ran cold, 'You mean Phil got away? You told the airport people that he was coming! How could you not stop him? I don't believe this. You call yourself the police? I could do better myself.'

Elena was faintly aware that her voice was rising and by then end of it she knew she was past hysterical. The policeman listened patiently, it wasn't the first time he had been insulted and it probably wouldn't be the last. The woman had been through a lot, she was worried and he had failed her. This got to him more than her rant.

Taking a breath, Elena mumbled an apology, 'I'm sorry-.'

'You don't have to apologise,' the policeman said, 'We should have stopped this Phil when we had the chance.'

There was a moments silence while Elena tried to calm her tired mind order her thoughts.

'What now?' she asked.

'Similar to last time, they travelled by van. It was found in a small coastal town. They are probably waiting for a boat to take them to one of the islands.'

'When did they get there?'

'No more than a few hours ago, they will be stuck in the town till night. Illegal boats don't sail in the day, it makes it a lot easier to catch them,' the policeman explained.

Elena looked out of the small window, her face lit by the pink light of early evening. A wild thought cantered across her brain but as she considered the idea, it didn't seem so bad.

'I want to go there,' she said. It was more of an order than anything else.

The policeman was thrown off his stride for a moment, 'What? That's out of the question. Let me assure you, Miss Fisher, there are trained men out there searching for Phil. You need to stay here and rest.'

Elena steeled her voice, 'Officer, my health is fine, my son's isn't. I need to look for him. I need to help.'

The policeman could see that she wasn't about to change her mind but still felt uneasy. He could get air transport for her. It wouldn't be hard. She could be there before nightfall. He just didn't want her to feel disappointed. The chances of finding Phil were slim at best.

Elena was about to add to her argument when the policeman held up a hand.

'Fine.'

Elena backed up a moment, she didn't realise it was going to be this easy, 'Uh, what? Sorry. Just like that? I thought you were going to talk me out of it.'

'This is a unique situation,' the officer said, 'What kind of man denies a mother a chance to look for her missing child?'

'Um, thanks,' Elena replied.

'But you must listen to me and not tire yourself out,' he continued seriously.

Elena was so full of hope that she would have agreed to almost anything. She watched, excited, as the police officer made some phone calls.

She finally felt like she wasn't being the useless female. She would find her son. Unlike Nate, Elena wasn't even bothered about revenge.

Elena just wanted her family intact at the end of this.

…

Chloe shivered and rubbed her arms. Evening drew on and it was steadily becoming darker. They had been on the boat for what felt like an age.

'Do you even know where you're going?' she asked Ted irritably.

'I'm heading towards land,' he said.

Chloe rolled her eyes at his vagueness and stamped her feet. She was worried about Nate who hadn't really said anything for some time. She wondered what she could do to help.

Sully gazed at the mass of land getting closer and closer. He could make out pin pricks of light from small towns and villages. Soon, he thought, they would be on solid land and they would be able to get Nate's kid. Not for the first time in his life Sully wondered what he had done to deserve such bad luck. Nothing seemed to be going right. He wouldn't be surprised if the boat suddenly ran out of fuel.

Chloe elbowed him, 'You do know you're speaking out loud. Any louder and Barry will hear you.'

'Crap,' Sully muttered, rubbing an aching rib, 'He's a nutter that one.'

Miguel was completing a word-search puzzle quietly. Sully frowned.

'Did he always have that on him?' he asked Chloe who looked over at the pilot and his mini puzzle book.

'He's been doing that for an hour now. He just got it out of his pocket with a pen,' she answered.

'He's also a crazy,' Sully muttered. He didn't have anything against people who did word-searches. It was just that it didn't seem appropriate at this particular moment in time.

Taking his mind off the crazy people in the group, Sully turned his attention to Nate who looked a little grey.

The older man stared back out at the sea, deep in thought.

He hoped with every fibre of his being that everything would work out. A broken Nate was something Sully didn't think he could fix.

He didn't think anyone would be able to.

…

Phil glared impatiently at the sky, willing it to turn dark sooner.

The baby had stopped crying and was now snoozing peacefully. Phil despised it.

One of his men lounged on the dock, cigarette in hand. The other had gone to get food.

The doctor was watching the baby carefully, still unsure of what the plan was.

Police sirens had raced past a few times but other than that there were no disturbances.

After a long time, the other man returned with some interesting news, 'There are teams of policemen searching the docks. The locals say they are searching for a missing baby and a fat American.'

The slur on his weight affected Phil more than the fact they were going to be found out.

'When will they get here?' he asked annoyed.

'Probably within the hour. The locals also said the mother was here too. She's helping the police.'

Phil grunted, this was not ideal, 'Do you know where Nathan Drake is?'

'No. Nobody knows where he is,' the man said.

Phil was about to reply when he saw a boat approaching the docks.

He looked through a pair of binoculars and nearly dropped them in surprise.

This was unexpected.

…

They were close now.

Ted was navigating towards the docks of what seemed to be small coastal town. Miguel had stopped his puzzles because it was too dark and had resorted to a very boring I-spy game. Nobody but Barry seemed to be taking part.

'…something beginning with 's',' Miguel began another round and looked around hopefully at the sullen group.

'Sea,' Barry said without any real enthusiasm.

'No.'

'Sky.'

'No.'

'Ship.'

There was silence as Barry tried to think of something else beginning with s.

'Shark?' he asked.

Miguel shook his head.

'Uhh…shoe.'

'No.'

'Sand.'

'No'

'Segway.'

Chloe and Sully frowned at Barry.

'There aren't any Segways here,' Chloe said.

'I was getting desperate,' Barry replied.

The boat listed to a stop as it came aside a seemingly empty jetty.

They all clambered up onto the rotting wood via a rickety ladder and stopped.

'Ah, shotgun,' Barry said finally.

'You got it,' Miguel said.

Phil stood before them pointing the business end of a large gun in their faces.

'How come only he saw the gun?' Chloe muttered to Ted.

'I really don't know. The dock was empty when I looked, then I was busy with the parking. Why didn't you see it?'

'Stop arguing,' Phil said and was pleased when they did, 'He probably saw it when I got it out in the first place. After that we hid, that's probably why Ted didn't see it.'

Ted raised an eyebrow, 'Thanks for clearing that up for us.'

'Why didn't you tell anyone about the shotgun?' Chloe asked Miguel, making a real effort not to shout.

'Well, I didn't know it was a bad person holding the shotgun, I just saw a gun and then it disappeared,' Miguel answered.

Barry, who surprisingly didn't seem so bothered about the sticky situation they were in, wasn't having any of this, 'That's not how you play I-spy, Miguel. You have to choose something that everyone can see…all the time.'

'Sorry.'

Phil stopped the conversation with a blast from the gun.

A baby started to cry.

'So does anyone want to tell me where Nathan Drake is?' Phil asked, all smiles.

The group looked confused. They were all sure that Nate had climbed up with them but for some reason he wasn't there.

Nate had disappeared.

* * *

**I once saw a man riding a Segway down a street…it was really weird…they are not natural lol…I don't like I-spy…but I don't mind word-searches**

**I am becoming increasingly worried about the consistency of this story…I keep thinking I contradict myself in terms of the time of day and what people are doing…if you spot anything that doesn't make sense please tell me lol…thanks**

**The other day my brother asked me how old I was…he thought I was still sixteen…genius...**

**Thanks for you for reading, reviewing and your general continued interest in this story...its gone on a long time  
**


	29. Ah

**When I started writing this story there were about 60 stories in this section...its nice to see the number doubled**

**I feel like having Uncharted 3 in the title is redundant now that the game is actually out lol  
**

**I don't know how accurate the visitor breakdown by country thing is but apparently the top three countries that visited this story in October were the US, UK and Canada…and then were some truly random ones…if there really was one person from Algeria…I am amazed…although so far this November the top three were US, UK and then Germany..Guten tag…so I don't really know what's going on lol…**

**In the last chapter Phil was waiting for a boat on the docks and then captured the heroes minus Nate while Elena searched said docks for her baby…**

* * *

Chapter 28

_Present day_

Nate heard the gunshot and flinched. He could hear the blood pounding in his ears. He knew he was very close to losing control.

Just hearing Phil's voice set his anger levels skyrocketing.

Nate knew he needed to keep a clear head. He needed to find a way to save his friends without flying into a mindless range and getting everyone killed.

For once Nate had been relatively lucky. When Phil looked through the binoculars, Nate was bent over, tying his shoe laces and so had gone unnoticed. Then when the others clambered up onto the dock, Nate had the foresight to collect one of the guns that they had taken from the soldiers and check it for rounds. Then he heard Barry say 'shotgun'. Nate was confused but mastered it well enough to get to the other side of the dock and hide behind some old crates.

He had to think of a plan. He had to focus. And then he heard it.

A baby crying.

His baby.

His son.

The rage took over.

…

The policeman looked up instantly.

The gunshot still echoed on the quiet streets.

Elena didn't wait for him to say anything and set off at a run as fast as her exhausted body could take her.

It took the officer a few seconds to realise this and with a shout followed her, unclipping his gun from his belt as he did so.

He wondered what would be waiting for them.

…

Phil was midway telling everyone how he survived the Spartoi and escaped from prison when there was a guttural roar from behind him.

A stack of crates leaned towards the tubby American with intent and Phil dived out of the way just as they came crashing down.

The group scattered with Chloe and Barry running towards the sound of the baby and Ted and Sully trying to take out the hired goons. Miguel got some dust in his eyes and blinked rapidly, even with this slight visual impairment, the pilot was the only one who saw what was happening between Phil and Nate.

Phil dropped the gun as he rolled away to the side and picked himself up gingerly. He turned to where his captives previously were and was barely able to get out a curse when he was tackled to the ground again.

He was dragged around and saw stars as Nate's fist ploughed into a chubby cheek.

Miguel, eyes now cleared, watched as Nate repeatedly decked Phil in the face while holding him to the ground. He wasn't bothered by mindless violence, and while it was partly justified because Phil was evil, Miguel got the feeling he should stop his friend.

The shotgun gleamed in the dim glow of the dock lights and Miguel made his way towards it. His fingers all but brushed the polished metal when he was thrown bodily into the sea by one of Phil's men who had gotten away from Sully. Miguel surfaced and climbed the old ladder to see Sully brain the thug with a piece of wood. Sully held out his hand to Miguel and pulled him up to the dock.

'Thanks,' Miguel said and Sully shrugged. They both turned to Nate, who was still beating Phil with relentless energy. It was if he was in his own world.

The sound of approaching sirens was worrying to say the least and Sully tried to get Nate's attention. Sully was all for sticking Phil's head on a pole but getting caught by the police wasn't part of the plan. He shouted to no avail and grumbled something to himself before grabbing Nate by the scruff of the neck and pulling him away from the nearly unconscious villain.

Ted was having a little trouble with his opponent. He didn't mind knives as such, but when they were being used as a weapon he definitely wasn't a fan. Knives hurt. He narrowly missed a slash by pirouetting off to his side which earned some applause from Miguel. Ted wasn't so lucky the next time when the man attacked again and felt the bite of cold metal against his arm. Miguel booed.

Ted staggered back a few steps, 'Are you just going to watch?' he asked Miguel angrily.

'Oh, sorry, I didn't know you wanted help,' Miguel said and blasted the man away with Phil's shotgun. Ted rolled his eyes, heroically suppressing his anger.

While all this was going on, at the other end of the dock, closest to dry land, Chloe and Barry were honing in on the crying baby. In the distance they could make out a figure with a bundle in its arms running away.

Chloe and Barry sped up and reached the man just as he put a foot on the steps out of the docks. He turned around, a terrified expression on his face.

Chloe raised a fist, ready to strike when Barry stopped her.

'Uh, I think he's a good guy,' he said. Chloe slowed down and lowered her arm.

'Why was he running away then?' she argued.

'Why don't we ask him and find out before hitting him,' Barry said and turned to the man.

'Before that, can someone shut the baby up, I can't stand it,' Chloe said.

The man spoke, 'I can't stop him, you try.'

Barry looked at the bundle and then at Chloe.

'Oh God, just because I'm the woman doesn't mean I have to do the baby stuff. I don't know what to do,' Chloe said angrily.

'Fine,' Barry muttered and took the bundle from the man. It was so light…and small. Barry peered at the little pink face, screwed up in its wailing. 'Any ideas?' he asked.

'Shake it or something,' Chloe suggested, she had seen this on TV therefore it should work. Barry looked doubtful but shook it anyway. Nothing happened, if anything the crying probably got louder.

'Oh jeez,' Chloe grunted, why did she have to run after the baby? Why hadn't she just taken out one of the goons?

Barry made cooing noises which for some incomprehensible reason worked.

Chloe sputtered as Barry handed the baby over to her, 'Hey, what are you doing?'

'My mobile is ringing. I've got to take it,' Barry replied and answered his phone.

The doctor thought this was all very surreal. He had run away because he didn't have a clue what was going on and since no one had been paying much attention to him it seemed like a good time to escape. Now he had been accosted by two foreigners who didn't seem to be bad like the slightly obese one but were strange in their own ways. The man was on his phone and the woman was eyeing the baby with distaste. The doctor didn't know what to make of them.

By the time Barry finished the call, the sirens had reached them and there was a lot of car door slamming above them. A figure appeared at the top of the stairs silhouetted by the car headlights.

They all looked up.

Chloe squinted into the light.

'Elena?'

…

Phil pretended to be unconscious. That seemed to be the only way out of this. He was not in an ideal position but Phil still had some hope. Nate's pounding had left him groggy but he was sure that his boat would be arriving soon. All he had to do was wait.

Under Sully's watchful eye, Nate stood, breathing heavily. He felt drained but somehow better. His anger dissipated and a shaky calm descended upon him. The gun he had taken from the boat lay forgotten by his side. He could barely feel his fractured knuckles.

Sully had talked him out of killing Phil but it hadn't been easy. Killing people in front of the police was not smart Sully had lectured but Nate wasn't so sure. Sparing the life of unconscious man before him didn't seem like such a clever thing to do. He knew well enough that Phil wouldn't stop being the villain till he was dead and Nate would have gladly volunteered for the role of executioner. Some part of him struggled against these thoughts of raw vengeance. He should just want his child to be ok. It didn't matter about anything else.

Nate looked to the beginning of the jetty where, in the distance, Chloe and Barry were chasing someone. That someone had his son.

He ran after them, the rest of the group close on his heels.

Phil watched them go through half closed eyes.

…

Nate was pretty sure his heart stopped beating for the first few second after the baby stopped crying. The silence was unnerving. All he could hear was the pounding of his footsteps on the floor.

They were nearly there and he had just shouted Chloe's name when everything went bright.

The police arrived with sirens, flashing lights and guns, all of which were trained on the trio of people at the foot of some stairs.

Nate arrived just in time to hear Chloe confusedly say 'Elena'.

This surprised him so much that he stopped concentrating on what he was doing and tripped over a loose board. He fell flat on his face next to Chloe who screamed a little.

'Bloody hell, Nate, you scared the crap out of me! I nearly dropped the baby,' she said, checking her hands to check if the bundle was still there.

Barry frowned, 'I'm not sure you should swear in front of him.'

Chloe went blank for a moment and stared at the child, 'Uh…don't ever repeat that...you hear me?'

Barry rolled his eyes and moved out of the way as Sully and Ted who were a little bit behind tripped over Nate.

'Smooth,' Chloe remarked and watched as the figure descended the stairs.

Chloe handed it the baby.

Elena took a few steps forward and paused. She looked down at Nate who was currently being squashed by both Sully and Ted.

'Nate,' she said.

Ted, who was not one to intrude, quickly got up and pushed Sully off Nate so hard that the older man actually rolled into the sea.

Neither Nate nor Elena seemed to notice this.

…

Chloe watched bemused as Sully was fished out of the water by Miguel. How could those blundering idiots ruin such an important emotional meeting between their best friends? Chloe frowned. Emotional meeting didn't sound like something she would say. She must be getting soft. Chloe didn't like this.

'You alright?' Ted asked upon noticing Chloe's stony expression. He had joined her, after pushing Sully into sea, a respectful distance away as to give Nate and Elena some privacy but not so far they couldn't watch what was happening.

'Fine,' she said to him and then narrowed her eyes at the blood on his shirt.

'I'm not going to die,' he told her before she could say anything. Chloe accepted this and turned back to the heart warming scene in front of them. Ted wondered whether he would ever be able to get any sympathy out of Chloe. A few minutes later, his spirits were more than lifted when he noticed Chloe looking at his wound through the corners of her eyes with an expression that could have been concern but to him definitely was.

Barry blew his nose loudly, his emotions getting the better of him. Chloe grunted. At least Ted hadn't pulled out a hanky yet, she thought, otherwise they would be having words.

Having helped get Sully out of the water, Miguel spotted and headed towards a kebab stall owned by an enterprising man who had noticed the sudden crowd of police and quickly decided to stay open a little longer.

Sully chatted to a policeman who seemed to be in charge and tried to sort out the details. He had to hand it to the officer who didn't even bat an eyelid when he walked up to him, dripping wet and dishevelled.

The policeman looked out to where Sully pointed. He frowned.

'There is nothing there,' he said flatly and Sully swivelled round, eyes wide.

'We caught Phil and we put him at the end of the dock. He was unconscious,' Sully stopped talking, the stupidity of leaving Phil alone catching up with him, 'Ahhh crap.'

'Indeed,' the policeman intoned and Sully felt more than a little foolish.

If Phil had escaped that meant, inevitably, that something bad was going to happen.

It was just a matter of when.

…

Nate stood, his mind blank.

His brain had been so overwhelmed with different emotions it had just quit on him then and there. Slowly it rebooted itself. He processed information at snail speed. Elena was standing in front of him. Had she always looked like that? Bags under eyes, face drawn, pale skin…

His eyes dropped to the grubby blankets that Elena was holding. Nate's battered mind made the connections. He knew what it held. All the plane crashes and fights had been leading up to this one moment.

He couldn't bring himself to say anything, every time he tried he could feel his voice tremble.

Words failed him. Coherent thought failed him.

He must have looked like a gibbering fool but Elena seemed to understand.

She held the bundle up to him.

Nate took it with shaking bloodied hands and peered at his son's face. It's tiny brown eyes roved around till they settled on their father's.

When asked about it later, Nate would liken the experience to being struck by lightning but all he could manage at the moment was a hoarse, 'Ah.'

Elena nearly laughed through her silent tears. Nate looked at her with a wobbly smile.

In an instant he knew he would never forget the way Elena stood there. Red rimmed eyes filled with joy and tear stained cheeks. The image was burned into his memory.

She took his face in her hands and told him that they were a family.

It wasn't much but it was enough.

…

A sob broke the fragile silence.

Chloe stared at the floor unsure whether she could control her own tears. She knew she had a problem with men who cried but she supposed she could forgive the offender this one time.

Only, though, because it was Nate.

* * *

**I wanted to say 'unholstering his gun' but apparently this isn't a word so Word changed it to upholstering…that is a very camp thing to do with a gun I think…**

**There will be more Nate and Elena fluff…for sure…this chapter is shorter than most because it seemed like a good place to stop….I cannot write emotional things…it's really hard…it always sounds really silly to me…this is no exception…I'm not really sure Nate would cry...**

**Since I am not a father and never will be I just assume this is what they feel lol…happy things…**

**Knowing I don't like sugar in my coffee, I put some in the other day just in case I magically started liking it…that didn't happen…I do this every two years with mince pies…they look really appetising…I haven't changed my mind about those either…they taste dodgy...**

**Danke schon****/ thanks for reading, reviewing and whatever…**

**Now for the only German I remember from school: Wenn das Wetter schlecht ist, fahre ich mit dem Bus zur Schule…**

**This means when the weather is bad I take the Bus to school...it's not helpful if I ever went to visit Germany **

**Thanks again**

**Between writing this chapter and uploading it Germany dropped to fourth position with Canada taking the third spot again lol**


	30. The Kebab

**Merry Christmas...even though it isn't Christmas now**

**It's sad that I still haven't got Uncharted 3 yet…I'm beginning to think that Santa doesn't exist anymore…**

**I did play on my cousin's Uncharted 3…it seemed pretty good…just saw the bit where Sully says he met Nate at 15 and then there was a big ol' house that we had to climb…nice bit of backstory…I'm glad I hadn't written anything contradictory to that**

**I got a new computer and the Word program has none of the extra made up words I use in the dictionary…when I write these chapters it makes it looks like there are tons of spelling mistakes lol…this means that I will probably miss the actual mistakes... I apologise…it also takes me some time to get used to new keyboards so I will probably mistype things even more...apologies...**

**In the last chapter Nate was reunited with Elena and his son…finally…Phil disappeared and everyone else was just fine…Miguel got a kebab**

* * *

Chapter 29

_Present day_

Phil let the sob wash over him. The rocking motion of the rubber dinghy he was sitting in threatened sleep.

His men had finally got here and having noticed the police lights had silently edged closer in the silent craft. It was darker here and the policemen were occupied on land. It hadn't taken as much as a roll to get Phil into it from the dock.

Well whoopdy doo, Nate had finally got his son back and been reunited with the love of his life. Phil touched his face gingerly with dark thoughts. What was the best course of action? The team on the boat had weapons and it plausible to mount some sort of attack on the subdued heroes. At the same time he could make a tactical retreat and try again later.

While thinking these profound thoughts something sailed through the night air. It was moist. When it made contact with Phil's face it made a satisfying slapping sound.

One of the men picked a piece of greenery from their employer's face. He sniffed it.

'It's a piece of lettuce,' he said after a while. It took the man a minute to extrapolate from this but slowly his mind made the connections between the foodstuffs on Phil's face.

'Boss, you've got a kebab on your face.'

…

Miguel stared at Sully, mouth wide open.

'My kebab!' he manage to splutter, his eyes went teary. Sully looked at him, his anger dissipating, he shuffled his feet guiltily.

'I'm sorry. I got so angry at Phil getting away that I really felt like throwing something and then you rolled up with your kebab and I just let my anger get the better of me,' the older man explained.

'I didn't even get to take a bite,' Miguel moaned.

'Look, calm down, I'll buy you another one,' Sully said quickly but Miguel wasn't having any of it and ran off to Chloe.

'Chloe, Sully threw my kebab into the sea,' he said, tugging at Chloe's sleeve. She turned to him, eyebrow raised.

'And I'm meant to care?' she replied, dead serious. Ted snorted. Miguel looked shocked.

'Christ, I said I'd buy you another one. What's wrong with you today?' Sully grumbled, finally catching up to him.

Barry stopped blowing his nose and turned to them bleary eyed. 'There's a kebab shop here? I haven't had one of those in a bloody long time. Where is it?'

Miguel pointed, 'It's over there but if you get one don't go near Sully. He'll throw it into the sea.'

'Really?' Barry asked.

Sully was quick to defend himself, 'Hey that was a one-off thing. I'm not going to throw anymore kebabs!'

'That's good. You should never come between a man and his kebab,' Barry said in a matter of fact voice and went off to buy one. Sully rolled his eyes, what was it with people and their goddamned kebabs?

Ted, Sully, Chloe and Miguel stood for a moment. Before them, Nate and Elena were talking about something.

Sully knew that he should be enjoying this moment but something was nagging at him. It was something to do with kebabs.

'Hey, Miguel, you know that kebab I threw? It was pretty big right?' Sully asked.

'The biggest one they had: nearly a kilogram of meat, salad and bread,' Miguel confirmed. Sully frowned.

'You know…if it was that big it would have made a pretty big splash. Right?' he said.

'It would have been such a big splash we probably would have got wet,' Miguel said.

Sully rubbed his chin, 'Only I never heard the splash.'

The group was silent.

Barry returned with a kebab.

Without even looking at it, Sully picked it up and lobbed it into the sea.

…

Phil had just finished eating/cleaning the kebab off when another one came hurtling out of the dark and smacked him in the face.

…

'I didn't hear a splash,' Sully said quietly. They had watched the flight path of the airborne food until the dock blocked their view.

The others agreed except for Barry who was still a little shocked.

'I thought you said you weren't going to throw any more kebabs,' he said angrily to Sully.

'Look, we've got bigger problems. I'll buy you another one later,' Sully muttered. Miguel looked to Barry.

'He told me the same thing but I still don't have one,' he said.

Sully huffed and stalked off to the end of the dock, passing Nate and Elena as he did so. They didn't even notice.

He peered over the edge cautiously. There was nothing but water, lazily lapping at the edges of the wood. Sully didn't like this. He was meant to be looking at two kebabs floating mushily in the sea.

Ted joined him and assessed the situation.

'Right, so you throw some kebabs and we don't hear a splash. Maybe you missed?' he suggested.

Sully looked at him, 'It's kind of hard to miss the sea. I watched it fall. It definitely landed here somewhere and it isn't on the dock.'

'Maybe a bird grabbed it before it landed.'

'I'm pretty sure we would have seen that,' Sully replied.

'I'm running out of rational situations,' Ted said. There was nowhere for the kebab to land except for the water. There was some clearance between the dock and sea level. If it had landed on someone i.e. Phil then he could be hiding underneath the dock.

Before he could act on this new insight, what seemed to be the long thin bit of an oar crashed through the wood and with unnerving precision caught him right between the legs.

Every man present winced.

Ted keeled over with a grunt and Sully spun round just in time to dodge his own attack, which came in the form of a spray of bullets that shredded through the planks of wood without mercy.

Half dragging, half carrying the prone Ted, Sully managed to hurry up the dock towards land.

Nate and Elena, upon hearing the commotion, had quickly done the same thing. The police spotlights which had been trained on the activity nearer to land suddenly focused on the end on the jetty.

Policemen thundered down docks, weapons drawn.

…

Phil supposed it wasn't the best idea to attack when your only means of escape was a row boat but it had been satisfying to get one back on that traitor Wanalulu.

For a fair few reasons Phil was feeling angry. Very angry. His plans were ruined and he had been the subject of a severe beating. Not to mention the chilli sauce was beginning to make his eyes sting.

Right now he just wanted to kill everyone which wasn't a very productive activity if you were heavily outnumbered.

His men had a better handle on the situation and quickly hefted a portable motor into the water and tugged at its cord. It rattled to life.

…

Nate watched bemused as a compact boat sped away from the docks.

Despite the darkness he knew who was on it. Phil. Who else?

While the thought of the overweight villain made Nate's blood boil, the fact he was with Elena and his son made him reluctant to give chase. The others though had no such reservations and a few seconds later another boat, this time commandeered by the police, left at high speeds.

Elena looked at him silently, as if deep in thought.

'You can go after him you know,' she said. They turned to their friends who were currently arguing over transportation. Miguel had found a row-boat and Sully was shouting him that there was no way in hell that they could chase anyone with a row-boat. Miguel pouted and threw down his oars in a strop.

'On any other day, I would have proven Sully wrong with that row-boat. I could catch Phil with it. I would have caught him whether I had a damn boat or not. Phil is one of the biggest craps I have ever met and the next time I see him I will kill him but not now. Not today. I would rather spend every second of my time with you guys,' Nate gestured at Elena and the small bundle she was carrying.

'On the plane you really wanted to get Phil,' Sully commented. He didn't know why he said this. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Sully didn't know how to handle tame Nate. The Nate he knew was a man of action. He would never stand aside while a madman got away.

Although, looking at the baby in Elena's arms, Sully could appreciate how his friend had nearly lost his new family.

Nate shrugged in an off-hand kind of way but didn't say anything. Instead, he took the baby from Elena and brought it over to Sully.

After a moment of awkward silence, Nate spoke, 'It's my son.'

Sully looked at the little human who stared back with innocent eyes. It looked to him like any generic baby. It was bald and pink. To be honest he wouldn't even have known it was a boy.

Sully didn't understand babies. He was a man. A manly man, by his standards anyway. Manly men didn't hang around babies. It detracted from their image. Babies were something that were left with the women and the homes while men went out and did things.

Sully stopped his thought processes there. Had he really just thought that? That was a little old fashioned, even for him. But he supposed he felt that some of it was true. At any rate he had never felt like he wanted a child or to be held down by the responsibility that you gained after obtaining one.

He had thought Nate had felt the same way but clearly the other man was warming up to the idea. There was pride in his voice and his eyes only saw the tiny human in front of him.

'He's got no hair,' Sully said a moment later after coming up with nothing else to say.

'Hey, he'll grow some later,' Nate said defensively, 'you want to hold him.'

A small part of Sully wanted to run away but the rest thought he could handle it.

'Uh…ok.'

Before he could take hold of the child, Miguel stepped into the line of fire and took it instead.

'Boojie boojie boo,' he garbled to the baby. It was not impressed and watched Miguel with suspicion.

'That usually makes them laugh,' Miguel said, confused, 'Maybe I should sing to him.'

Sully took the baby from him, 'Please don't.'

Miguel looked miffed and stalked off, muttering darkly about something that sounded a lot like kebabs.

Sully shook his head at the retreating form of the pilot and turned his attention to the child.

It had fallen asleep. Sully had heard that grown men could be moved to tears when they held a new born child. He had just witnessed it when Nate had done that very thing. He supposed he could see why, the baby was quite endearing in its own way, even though to him they looked a little ugly. He supposed it was to do with their innocence.

Sully didn't even know the baby that well but he got the feeling that he would do anything to protect it. It wasn't his child but it still felt like family. Nate was his closest friend. They had known each other for so long. The baby was like an extension of his friend.

'Sully, are you crying?' Nate asked. He squinted at his friend.

'What? No way. Don't talk crap,' Sully handed over the baby and hurriedly backed away. He swiped a hand at his eyes. His hand was wet. Christ, was that a tear? What the heck was going on? Sully didn't do this kind of emotion. He needed something to take his mind off it all.

He needed a kebab.

…

Chloe watched the boats disappear into the night.

She wondered if the police would catch Phil. She didn't have high hopes. That guy was like a bloody cockroach. He never seemed to die.

She shook her head in disgust when Miguel hopped into a wooden row-boat and tried to get them to follow him.

While Sully was shouting at him she joined Ted who was standing at the edge of the dock.

'You alright?' she asked. Ted grimaced.

'Not really. I did take a direct hit to the unmentionables,' he muttered.

'Do you think they will catch him?' she asked. Her mouth a slight smile after the word 'unmentionable' was said.

Ted winced as he sat down on a broken crate. 'Probably not.'

'What are we going to do about that guy?' Chloe grumbled, taking a seat beside him.

In a bold gesture that Chloe would have probably made a wry comment about, Ted took her hand in his and just held it. She told herself that she let him do it because she felt sorry for him and his 'unmentionables'.

'We'll just have to hope for the best, and failing that we'll just have to kill him before he does anything stupid.'

Chloe looked at Nate, who was standing with Sully.

'I think he'll go after Nate again,' Chloe added.

'I wouldn't be surprised. Nate has something that Phil wants. That's the whole reason that this happened. Now that he's lost his bargaining chip, he's going to have to come up with a new plan. One with more violence in it,' Ted explained.

'We should enjoy this reprieve while we can,' she murmured.

Ted squeezed her hand, 'Trust me, it won't last long.'

…

Phil felt the cool spray against his face. It was refreshing.

His anger simmered down but his nerves still jangled, although now it was mostly to do with the fact they were being chased by a boat full of police.

A spotlight was doggedly following them as the police tried to keep eyes on them but they were slowly falling behind.

Soon Phil noticed that their engine had cut out.

He grinned. In the pale moonlight his teeth shone in a menacing way.

One of the men tapped him on the shoulder.

'Boss, we'll be at the main boat soon.'

Phil rubbed his hands together in a Mr Burns kind of way.

'Excellent.'

…

Sully went to the kebab stall, emotion clouding his thoughts.

He mindlessly ordered some food and was about to take a bite when Barry came along and grabbed the kebab.

'Cheers mate, I thought you were never going to repay me,' he said and walked off.

Sully watched him go, his mouth still open.

He kind of understood what he had put Miguel and Barry through by throwing their food into the sea.

He also didn't have the energy to get it back and returned to the counter.

With a furtive glance round, Sully unwrapped his new food item. Steam rose from it in a way that made even the full salivate.

He opened his mouth and clamped down on nothingness.

Miguel gave a murmur of appreciation. 'Aw man, this is so good. Thanks, Sully.'

Miguel walked off.

'Well, goddamn,' Sully managed to say.

He was going to buy another one when he heard the police boat return and hurried down to the others without a second's thought.

…

The police detective wrung out his beret on the dock and cursed. Somebody probably should have checked if the boat they had 'acquired' actually contained enough fuel. Thirty minutes later of hard rowing had got them back to the shore but not before watching Phil get on a second boat which soon disappeared from view.

He had all but finished drying himself when he was surrounded by the foreigners.

'Did you get him? Did you get Phil?' Elena asked. This was followed by a barrage of follow-up questions from the others. The detective held up his hands and everyone stopped talking.

'Our boat broke down while we were giving chase,' the man began and stared hard at a junior officer who shuffled his feet, 'we saw Phil get on another boat which had probably been waiting for him. Then they disappeared.'

There was a silence and then a second round of questions. Angry and frustrated.

The policeman wished he had carried better news.

'Well,' Sully took the floor, 'do you know what direction they were going in?'

'All I know is that they went to open sea, but the boat looked local and had a Turkish name. There is a good chance it has passed through these docks or the ones in neighbouring towns before. I have alerted the police there. We can find out who owns it and from there hopefully where it usually travels. That's all I have at the moment. I'm sorry.'

'It's ok,' Elena said after a while, 'at least we're all ok.'

'I beg to differ,' Ted grumbled. He was standing awkwardly.

'Oh,' Elena looked at him with sympathy, 'I'm sorry.'

'It's ok,' Ted replied, 'as long as you and the baby are fine.'

Despite the lack of sleep and food and despite the fact that her nerves were shot to pieces Elena was able to shoot Ted a smile that held real warmth.

'We definitely are. I talked to the doctor that Phil kidnapped. He said that he should be fine but should be taken to a hospital soon for a proper examination,' she explained.

The detective felt content for a moment. A child had been returned safely to the parents. It was a small victory that would be remembered for a long time.

Now all that remained was the criminal. His troubled thoughts were interrupted by the light chatter that was going on around him.

'Have you thought of any names yet?' Barry asked.

Nate and Elena looked at each other, 'Uh, not really. Got a few ideas but nothing solid,' Nate said finally.

'As long as you don't call him Francis. That is way too cheesy,' Chloe commented.

'Or Spartoi,' Barry added, 'that's a really bad name.'

Everyone looked at him.

'We were never going to call him that,' Elena said.

Barry shrugged, 'That's good to know.'

Miguel yawned, 'I want to go to bed,' he announced.

'Um…ok?' Chloe said confused.

Miguel turned to the policeman, 'Are there any hotels about?'

The detective scratched his chin, 'I think there is a small inn in the town centre. It isn't that big though. If you can't find somewhere to stay then you can have a cell at the police station. It doesn't sound inviting but it has got a roof and plumbing.'

'That's very kind of you,' Elena said, 'but first we'd like a lift to the nearest hospital.'

The detective waved to some men who were packing away equipment and ordered them to drive Nate and Elena wherever they wanted to go. The doctor left with them, dazed and confused as to what this was all really about.

Sully watched them go. Might as well give them some alone time. No doubt they needed it.

Barry, Ted, Chloe, Miguel and Sully stood on the dock as the world moved on around them. The detective had left to help his officers and make some phone calls.

There was nothing much they could do until they found out where that boat was heading.

'I guess we could go find that inn,' Ted said, 'I feel kind of useless here.'

Sully agreed. He wondered if they had a bar. Strange thoughts were taking root in his mind. Had he just lost Nate as his adventure buddy? Was he in the way now?

With a huff Sully realised he was nearly feeling jealous of an infant who was a few days old. What was wrong with him?

Without even realising it, Sully had managed to walk all the way to the inn with the others and now Ted was negotiating some rooms.

'Right,' Sully heard him say, 'I need some rooms for the night.'

The man behind the desk looked at them, 'How many?'

'A room each?' Ted tried.

The man shook his head, 'There is one double room and a family room with a double bed and a single.' He laid the two room keys on the counter as if to prove what he was trying to say.

Ted quickly grabbed the key for the double room and threw the other to Miguel.

'Chloe and I have got this one,' he said, 'you guys can decide how to sleep in the family room.'

This was enough to break Sully out of his thoughts. The prospect of spending a night with Barry and Miguel was enough to do that.

'No way! You take the family room,' Sully objected. Ted shook his head.

'Not happening. I'm not leaving Chloe.'

'Excuse me,' Chloe said darkly, 'What if I don't want you in my room?' She took the key off him.

Ted feigned hurt, 'You wound me, truly, but my fickle jealously won't allow me to let you sleep in a bed with a man who is not me.'

Chloe got the feeling this wasn't the only reason and that Ted was more worried about spending the night with the Miguel and Barry. She didn't blame him but if Ted had anything more than sleep in mind he was going to be sorely disappointed. Chloe was determined to sleep at least twelve hours straight.

Sully was going to put up more of an argument when he saw that there was a bar that was still open. That was good enough for him.

A good stiff drink would probably get him through the night with the two loonies he'd been assigned.

Barry and Miguel were comparing their snoring volumes. Chloe and Ted had gone.

Sully grunted.

Maybe a few good stiff drinks.

* * *

**I don't know why but I wrote a lot about Sully in this chapter…**

**This chapter went nowhere but I do know what happens in the next one for once.**

**If there is a fourth Uncharted it will have ninjas in it…Nate hasn't fought any ninjas yet…**

**While writing this I was snacking on Cheerio's…then one of them fell down the side of desk where all the cables live…I tried to find it…but I couldn't…I didn't have my glasses on which is probably why but now there is a lonely cheerio just chilling out by the side of my desk…this is a useless anecdote because when I finished writing the chapter I had already found the cheerio…now it's in a bin…**

**While writing another part of this chapter, Avatar was on in the background and the woman said something about trees and then I wrote grown men are often moved to tears when they hold a new born tree…I get distracted easily…**

**Sully's kebab throwing accuracy is a little unreal**

**I really like kebabs…you could probably tell…sorry for mentioning them so much**

**I need ideas for baby names...if you think of anything please tell me lol**

**Thanks for reading...and a happy new year!**

**Maybe I will update before that...**


	31. Stuff Happens

**Yo**

**Since the last chapter was about nothing, this one is full of stuff being done but nothing really big hence the chapter name...I truly had no idea lol**

**Nothing much has happened since I last wrote…sadtimes…still no uncharted 3….I must be the uncoolest person ever…so behind the times…I do have Skyrim though…dragon slaying is fun**

**In the last chapter Phil got away on a boat and Sully had some deep thoughts, Barry and Miguel both had their kebabs stolen and then they got new ones…Ted took a hit to the unmentionables…**

**Wow thirty chapters…I seriously wonder what has gone into them lol**

**This one is short...sorry**

* * *

Chapter 30

Phil looked around the beach.

If it wasn't an unknown island, it would have been the destination of every budding Mediterranean hotelier. Golden sands and a crystal clear sea which was just the right shade of turquoise.

This didn't really affect Phil in any way. He wasn't here to make money from tourists. He was here to take over the world.

The only thing stopping him from doing this right now was the absence of a certain person.

Nathan Drake held the final clue to the location of the last dragon jawbone.

Armed men ran across the beach in an organised way. They were heading inland where a temporary camp had been assembled. More guards were waiting here.

In the morning light, Phil found that he had little to do and allowed himself a little time for an insightful flashback.

In this flashback, an underground cavern had exploded, angry Spartoi ran amok and in a moment of pure terror Phil let Nathan Drake get the better of him and grab the important documents that lead to the missing dragon jawbone. What none of them realised till much later was that Nate had ripped the documents, leaving half in Phil's pudgy fist. They went their separate ways. Now fast forward a little. Phil was lying on the floor, unconscious, his leg crushed under a giant boulder. Spartoi were still running around with reckless abandon. Elena approached him with caution. Her eyes were locked onto something crumpled in the villain's hand. She was about to take it when she was dragged away by Chloe. Phil didn't cross paths with the heroes again. In this way Phil was left with the second part of the location and Nate with the other.

Phil blinked and looked at the empty space where his leg should be. Sometimes he could swear it was itching. It was weird but that wasn't important right now.

He needed to think of a plan. One that would get Nate to tell him where the precise resting place of the jawbone was for the paper that Phil had only gave told him of the island.

There was too much land to scour with just the guards he had and if there was some sort of puzzle, the chances were Nate had the answer. He always did.

A bird pooped sloppily on Phil's shirt.

The helpful guard from before pointed this out.

'Uh, Boss, you've got bird crap on you.'

Phil scowled heavily.

…

When Nate woke it took him a moment to realise where he was. The unfamiliar ceiling was lit with late morning sun and shouts in a foreign language hummed outside.

He blinked a few times and adjusted, mentally running through the recent events and their outcomes.

Something was resting on his chest. It was an arm. Elena's arm.

Nate turned a stiff neck towards the sleeping form beside him. This was nice.

Letting his neck sink back into the pillow, he realised how satisfying it was to wake up without having to worry. His son was safe and his girlfriend wasn't sick anymore.

Hmm, he mused. Girlfriend. Maybe he should change that. Or maybe that was going way too fast. Nate was confused.

Maybe they should get Phil before he started thinking about stuff like this.

Elena shifted but continued sleeping.

Maybe he should just enjoy this moment a little longer.

…

Sully's head was pounding.

His arm flopped over the side of the single bed he was occupying.

Barry and Miguel snored a symphony a few feet away.

Without moving his head an inch, Sully poured himself a glass of water from a jug. He held the glass a moment, considered it and then just dumped it over his head.

Nothing like warm water to wake you up on a humid morning. Sully grunted, the water mingled with sweat, made him sticky.

Eurgh. Sully decided it was time to get up and locked himself in the bathroom. The cracked bathroom mirror revealed a stubbled man with a grey face to match his grey hair.

He probably shouldn't have drunk as much as he did last night. But there was no point crying over spilt milk and he turned on the shower which spat for a few seconds before settling down into a torrent of cold water.

It felt good.

Once he was ready, Sully went to the bar and settled himself directly under a ceiling fan. He screwed an unlit cigar into his mouth and started to think.

The first thing he would do was contact Nate. He had heard from them last night after they had left the hospital. Their son was in observation and they had checked into a nearby hotel. They were meant to meet up today and discuss what to do next.

Second, Sully was determined to get in touch with the detective and see if the police had found anything else about the boat.

Finally, Sully wanted a chat with Nate. Alone. Man to man. He wasn't sure what he was going to say but he thought it needed to happen. He had done a lot of thinking yesterday; drunken exaggerated thinking but thinking all the same.

Before he could get started on his to-do list a waiter came over with a telephone.

Someone had called the reception and wanted to talk to him.

Huh, Sully thought, who could this be?

…

Chloe rolled over, collided with another body and rolled back again.

She opened her eyes and felt irritated.

It was too hot.

Everything was too warm. There were no cool patches left on the bed and Ted just exuded heat like a portable radiator. Even both sides of the pillow were hot.

The excessive heat had led to a restless night. Chloe wasn't really sure she had slept that much so when Ted woke and looked as fresh as a daisy she was less than pleased.

'Isn't this nice?' he said looking around happily. Chloe grunted and Ted frowned.

'What's the matter?' he asked.

'I didn't sleep, it was too hot,' she muttered shortly.

'I don't know but I think taking your clothes off would be a good idea.'

Chloe gave him a flat look.

'Ok,' Ted said, 'How about a shower?'

Another flat look.

'I didn't say _I_ was going to be in there too,' Ted said with an innocent look on his scarred face.

Chloe raised an eyebrow, 'But that's what you had in mind, wasn't it?'

Ted looked away guiltily, 'Maybe, but it would probably work.'

Chloe sighed and shook her head. Men.

Without giving him a chance to react, Chloe rolled off the bed and went into the bathroom. She shut the door behind her.

Ted was quiet for a moment.

Then he heard the bathroom lock slide into place.

He waited a little longer.

Seconds ticked by and then the door unlocked.

Ted smiled.

…

'We've found out where the boat has gone to,' the detective said when Nate, Elena and Sully had gathered.

Following quick conversation with Nate, Sully had called a quick meeting. Nate said the police were onto something.

Things were heating up and it had nothing to do with the noonday sun which was baking the streets.

'The boat is owned by a local, by day he's just another fisherman but at night, well, he's known as a bit of a smuggler. You could hire him to carry almost anything for the right price,' the policeman continued.

Sully and others took this in.

'Apparently, he was boasting a few days ago how a rich American had paid him nearly ten thousand dollars to take him to an uninhabited island. One that's only known about by the locals. It's surrounded by shallows and jagged rocks. The boatmen usually avoid it,' the policemen related the information succinctly.

Nate was quiet for a moment, 'Do we know where this island is?'

The policeman nodded, 'It was hard. The locals don't like talking about it for some reason but we were able to get one man to mark it out on a map.'

Sully stood, 'Well, what are we waiting for?'

'We have to be careful,' the policeman said, 'we know nothing about this place. Any plane that passes over will alert them instantly. We need to do this properly. I know you Americans like to be gung-ho but this isn't the time.'

Sully sat down, 'Gung-ho never failed us before,' he mumbled.

The policeman looked at him, 'That may be so but from what I've heard and seen, Phil isn't your usual criminal. He is very resistant to death.'

Elena thought that this was a strange way to put it. Strange, but accurate.

From the look on the man's face she could tell what he was going to say next and what her companions' reactions would be.

The policeman spoke, 'Look, I shouldn't really have told you all this, it's completely against protocol. Leave the matter to us. We will apprehend Phil.'

'We never had any authority before,' Sully said angrily, 'this is our fight. He took Nate's kid!'

'That's exactly why I can't take you with me,' the policeman said with a glint in his eye.

The others were silent.

With a tired smile, the policeman rose and left.

Sully picked up some paper that the man had left behind. A set of co-ordinates were written neatly in the middle of it.

'He can't take us but we can go ourselves,' Nate said. He wanted every morning to be like the one he just had but he didn't want to have to worry about Phil returning and breaking the peace. No, he would finish off things now. He would protect his family.

Sully saw the resolve in his friend's eyes. Nate hadn't changed at all. His priorities may have changed a little but he was still the same guy. Sully was glad.

Elena got up from the table and the two men looked at her.

'We might as well go tell the others,' she said.

…

Chloe let the sea spray cool her down. The boat cruised effortlessly across the water.

Behind her, Barry was stretched out on a towel getting his tan on. His pasty British skin hadn't seen this much sun in a long time.

Ted was steering the boat with Miguel navigating. Although Chloe got the feeling Ted was doing this as well.

Sully and Nate were at the back of the boat checking supplies and weapons they had managed to gather for their expedition.

Chloe rested her head on her arms and tried to clear her mind. She wondered how this was going end. Phil was one dodgy customer. No matter what they did, he always seemed to get away with things. They needed to kill him. Good and proper.

Nate stared out to the open sea. His mind dwelled on Elena who he'd forced to stay behind. Someone needed to be with their son and she had just had surgery. She saw the sense in this but still she had put up some defence.

Sully watched his friend.

He patted on him on the back, 'It's gonna be ok kid. You know that, right?'

Nate managed a smile, 'Still with the 'kid'? I'm a dad now.'

'Never saw that coming,' Sully admitted, 'but it's probably better this way. You and Elena got a good thing going. You gonna marry her?'

Nate avoided the question, 'Let's just get through this shall we?'

Before Sully could comment, Miguel stepped out from the small enclosure that held the steering wheel and control panels.

'We're here.'

* * *

**This is a short chapter but I know what's happening…the next one is on its way**

**This story needs to end…soon…I am losing my patience with it and I know you guys probably are too…**

**Not all British people have pasty skin lol..don't want to offend...also there is nothing wrong with pasty skin...**

**What gets to me most is that it took me so long to write this that the actual game came out lol…Now I am behind on real story and new characters…**

**We are close though…**

**Thanks for reading! It's nice to know that people still do even though its outdated lol…**

**If ever had the willpower and imagination to do a sequel…it would have ninjas…loads of them…demonic ninjas…all uncharted games need an element of the supernatural lol…**

**Cheers again! Happy New Year…still got a few days still…**


	32. Who's Got A Freaky Thumb?

**Happy New Year!**

**Did anyone do anything interesting? I went to London to see the fireworks…there were loads of people…too many people…actually…just too many tall people…I didn't see a thing lol…doesn't matter**

**Anyways, in the last chapter, the heroes tracked down Phil to an island where possibly the final showdown may occur, Sully called Nate 'kid' and Elena got left behind…standard…**

* * *

The beach spread before them like a three dimensional holiday brochure.

They had left the boat anchored in deep waters where the part of the island that faced it was sheer cliff. Hopefully no one would notice. They then approached by a smaller dinghy, paddling around till they could find somewhere to disembark. It didn't take them long to find a small sheltered bay.

Barry whistled.

'Huh, when these adventures finally pay off, I'm gonna own a beach like this,' Sully said, taking in the golden sands and crystal clear sea, 'Maybe I'll put a bar here though,' he added as an afterthought.

Chloe rolled her eyes, 'If these _adventures_ have told you anything it's that we never make any money off them. You're going to have to get your beach the old fashioned way.'

'Which would be?' Sully asked.

'Steal it,' Chloe said flatly.

'How do you steal a beach?' Barry asked.

Chloe thought about this for a moment and unable to come up with a simple answer, hit him on the head.

'Ow!'

Nate hadn't been listening to his friends. Their antics were like a soundtrack to a summer holiday when, in reality, there was something a lot more sinister afoot.

He needed to stay focussed. There was one flaw with any plan that he came up with. They knew nothing. Not the layout of the island, not where Phil was and not what Phil was planning.

His eyes picked up on some tracks in the sand. Wheels. Big ones.

The cogs in Nate's mind turned. It was possible that Phil was running patrols on the island. Nate couldn't be sure whether the tracks were new or not which meant he had no idea when the potential soldiers could be returning.

This was not an ideal situation.

With a troubled mind, Nate put his hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the intense sunlight. Furthest away from them, straight ahead was a thick forest of exotic looking foliage. Good cover if it came down to it. The forest stretched the length of the bay and at either end, marking its ends were cliffs that seemed to provide homes for every bird in the Mediterranean.

Nate made his way to the line of forest. There was a break in the trees where it looked like a path wide enough for a vehicle had been made. Maybe this would lead somewhere.

The others followed without question but continued their bickering.

He was so deep in thought about what to do next, Nate didn't even realise that Sully was talking to him.

'Uh, sorry. What were you saying?'

Sully gave him a despairing look, 'Honestly, Nate, sometimes I think that you don't listen to me at all.'

'That's not true. I just have a lot on my mind at the moment. What do you want?'

'Barry wants to know how you steal a beach,' Sully said without a trace of humour in his voice.

Nate shook his head in wonder but was saved from answering when his ears pricked at the sound of an approaching engine.

Without a moment's hesitation Nate broke into a run and dived into the greenery. The others thankfully followed his lead.

Not a second passed when a jeep crashed through the undergrowth and onto the beach, more or less following the tracks had seen before.

It was about halfway across the bay when it stopped. Nate and others watched as a soldier left the jeep, wandered over to the waterline and called to his companion.

Well, they had found the dinghy.

'Forgot about that,' Sully muttered.

'Doesn't matter,' Nate breathed, 'I'd rather get Phil nervous. I want him to know we're here and that we're coming for him.'

Sully admired the resolve in his voice, 'So what's the plan.'

The two guards were examining their boat with curiosity.

'We split up,' Nate said, 'it's not ideal but it might pay off later.'

Ted nodded, 'Ok, what have you got in mind?'

The two men had spotted their footprints and instead of calling for backup, followed them, guns raised.

'Ted, you go with Miguel, Sully and Barry. Take their jeep. Drive around. See where you get. Me and Chloe are going to find high ground and get our bearings. We've got radios to keep in contact with,' Nate said quickly. It wouldn't be longer now. The soldiers were getting closer.

The others nodded and that was all that was needed. Nate saw the grim determination in their faces. This would work. It had to.

Without giving the two men a chance the group of heroes descended upon them. A minute later, Ted, Sully and Miguel were hurrying to the abandoned jeep with the soldiers liberated weaponry.

Nate stared at the cliff nearest them. A good vantage point as any.

Chloe followed his gaze, 'Really? That one. Of all the bloody cliffs you had to choose, you pick the biggest one.'

Nate smiled, 'Yup.'

Chloe grunted and set off, 'Might as well get this over with.'

…

The jeep rattled over the makeshift road.

All four occupants sat in silence, contemplating their own thoughts.

Ted's went along the lines of 'Why can't I be teamed up with Chloe?' and then a little less seriously 'I wonder if my pre-ordered Jake's Fortune has arrived yet, I've been looking forward to that for a whole year'.

Sully went in for the more sulky ones, 'Why'd he choose Chloe? Is it because I'm old? I could climb a cliff. I could climb twenty cliffs. One after the other…ok…scratch that…maybe two'.

Barry and Miguel held a thumb-war tournament. Barry was losing two games to four.

Miguel had freaky thumbs.

…

Chloe swatted a fly that was hovering near her ear. She scowled at it.

Nate looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

'What? It was hovering with intent.'

'_I need to pee_.'

Chloe rolled her eyes at Miguel's voice, 'Did you really have to broadcast that over the radio?'

'_Nobody here cares_,' came Miguel's reply.

'And nobody here does either,' Chloe shot back. She was pretty sure she could here Miguel sulking in the background.

Rolling her eyes, she continued up the rocky cliff face. It was tough going and her hands had long been ripped to shreds but they were shaded from the sun and the birds didn't seem to roost here either. The last thing she needed was to be rubbing raw skin over freshly baked bird droppings.

Nate had scrambled on ahead, making impossible leaps and using hand holds that seemed incredibly well placed.

He reached the top before her and was surveying the area when she finally huffed her way to the summit.

She took some steady breaths and looked out from their vantage point.

The view was something to write home about.

A lush forest took up the entire interior of the island. There were clearings scattered about and a river snaked its way through the middle

'About half-way up, I was regretting coming with you but it was worth it. If only for the view,' Chloe said after a while.

'The jawbone is on this island,' Nate said suddenly.

Chloe looked at him, 'What?'

Nate sat on a rock and Chloe followed suit.

'Back in Egypt, when we were in that cave, I took some documents from Phil,' he explained.

'I remember, they were the ones that he found in the tomb,' Chloe said.

Nate nodded, 'Yeah, but the thing is, when we finally got out, I realised I only had half the paper. It was ripped.'

It didn't take long to see where Nate was going with this.

'Ok, so you think Phil kept the rest and it led him here?' she said, 'That's plausible. Since he went after you, he must really need whatever was on the paper you had.'

'I think the paper had the exact location of the last jawbone. Phil's section must have only given him the island. The piece I had must have given the specifics.'

'Do you even have that paper still?'

'It's at home somewhere. We have a whole room dedicated to all that crap we get from adventures.'

'Better than regular souvenirs,' Chloe commented and Nate shrugged.

'I guess.'

Chloe frowned, 'Well if you don't have the paper here then we're screwed.'

Nate tugged something out of his back pocket and waved it her.

'I might not have the paper but I do have this,' he said and flicked open a battered notebook, filled with sketches and scribbles.

'I can't believe you carry that around everywhere,' Chloe muttered but looked at it with interest.

When Nate found the right page, Chloe's ever present frown deepened. 'What the heck is that supposed to mean?'

On the page was a photocopy of the tomb document that Nate had procured. There was some Arabic script and the symbol that had been found on the scroll tubes all those months ago.

Nate flicked one page forward and then back again, 'Um, it looks like I didn't get it translated,' he said sheepishly.

Chloe slapped a hand to her forehead. Seriously? They had a chance to be one step ahead of Phil and then this happens.

She tagged the radio with little hope, 'I don't suppose one of you boys knows Arabic?'

…

The four men regarded this new communication with confusion.

'Uh, what was that?' Sully asked again, as Ted narrowly missed a fallen tree trunk with a deft movement of the steering wheel.

'_Arabic. Do any of you know it?' _Chloe's terse reply filled the car.

'I do,' Barry piped up from the back seat.

Sully and Miguel stared at him. Ted wanted to too but he was busy driving.

'_You do_?'

'Yeah, I grew up in Syria when I was little. Picked it up, y'know how it goes,' Barry explained, abashed at all the attention he was getting.

His phone beeped.

'_I sent you a picture of a clue. Translate it,' _Chloe said over the radio.

Ted instantly thought of the phones. The fact that mobiles had any signal here meant that Phil must have set up mobile communications towers. He must have been setting this up for a very long time. Ted got a bad feeling about all of this.

Barry took a few minutes, muttering to himself and writing on a scrap piece of paper.

'Ok, I don't know this dialect very well, but I'm pretty sure it says: Go to the centre of the island where the river meets the largest clearing. This is where the final jawbone rests.'

There was a lengthy silence.

'Wow, that was really…precise,' Ted said after a while. It was never that easy, at the very least he was expecting a riddle.

'_Are you sure?_' Nate asked. His voice crackled slightly over the radio.

'Yeah, it either says that or something about eating dates before going swimming. I'm pretty sure it's telling you the directions to the final jawbone,' Barry confirmed.

Ted suddenly braked.

Everyone in the car slammed forward. The radio slipped from Barry's grasp and slid under Sully's seat.

'What the heck are you doing?' Sully grumbled. He rubbed his chest where the seat belt had caught him.

Ted quickly shifted gears and started to reverse dad-style with one arm on Sully's seat and his head craned round to look out the rear windscreen.

'They've spotted us,' Ted muttered grimly.

Sully squinted out the grimy glass to see a jeep identical to theirs heading towards them. The vehicle spat out clods of mud behind it. They were going fast.

Chloe would have said they were moving with intent.

While Barry fished around the back seat for the radio, Ted continued backing up the narrow track.

'Anyone got a plan?' he asked with gritted teeth.

'We could ram them?' Miguel suggested and then pointed out the window, 'oh, look, there is a ramp-like rock there. Why don't we use that to jump over them?'

Barry shook his head, 'Rocky ramps don't work in real life.'

Miguel looked shocked, 'They don't?'

Sully grunted and slid back the sun roof, 'One of you two, grab a gun and fire at them.'

Barry narrowed his eyes, 'Why don't you do it?'

'I gotta navigate,' Sully replied without batting an eyelid.

'We're going backwards,' Barry said flatly.

'They're getting closer,' a slightly irritated Ted said.

The following jeep suddenly turned and came to a stop after the precise use of the hand brake. Now the way forward was more or less blocked. Sully could just make out the four men who had exited. One of them was talking rapidly on his radio. The others were slowly advancing with their machine guns drawn.

Ted slowed.

Sully looked at him, 'What are you doing?'

Ted looked at him, his face a little paler than before.

'They've blocked us in.'

Sully and the others looked through the back window of the rugged vehicle.

True enough another jeep had parked behind them. A similar band of men were advancing towards them.

'Anyone got a plan?' Ted asked, wishing that he didn't have to ask this so much.

'Rocky ramp?' Miguel asked.

Sully and Barry swallowed.

Ted closed his eyes, said a quick prayer and gunned the engine.

…

Chloe stared at the silent radio. A chilly breeze whipped at her hair.

'What the hell happened to them?' she wondered out loud.

'Nothing good,' Nate said and stared at the green expanse before them.

'Probably, but what are we going to do?' Chloe asked.

Nate zeroed in on the clearing in the middle of the island.

'We're going to get the jawbone,' he said.

Chloe saw the path down the cliff and grunted. If she had hands left after this it would be a miracle. Sharp rocks jutted out over a bone shattering fall. Of course, Nate would be fine. He always was. Chloe had no doubt in her mind that she would be less fortunate.

'Go figure,' she said to herself and followed Nate down.

…

Phil smiled. It was a toothy smile and it unnerved the guard greatly.

He tried to give his report as quickly as possible so he could leave and be done with those pointy canines.

They were shiny.

'So, Drake and the others are here,' Phil said finally. He drew a certain sense of sick pleasure from watching his underling sweat so much in his presence. It was worth having his teeth filed.

'Yessir,' the man gulped, 'we picked up some mobile phone usage as well. From what we can tell an image was sent.'

Phil didn't seem interested in this so much and leaned back in his seat which was situated under a gazebo type structure, 'Who exactly is with Drake?'

The man mentally backpedalled, 'Uh, the guys who were tied down in the boat identified Ted Wanalulu, Chloe Frazer, Victor Sullivan, a short pasty man and an African.'

Phil surmised that the last two were the new additions to the team whom he had seen when he had been at the docks, 'But not Elena Fisher?'

The man shook his head, 'No. More importantly sir,' he tried to change the course of the conversation, 'our men have trapped a jeep which contains four of the intruders. What are our orders?'

Phil mulled over this thoughtfully, but the guard didn't think he was really thinking objectively and was really just planning the most painful revenges possible.

Phil himself wanted to kill everyone. He had half the mind to order just this but the other half argued against it and successfully too. Hostages were persuasive cards to hold.

'Is Drake in the jeep?' he Phil asked.

The guard shook his head.

Phil connected some dots. 'The mobile phones…can you trace their whereabouts?'

'Yes, we have already; a team is en-route. It appears that the phone was used on the eastern cliffs and was messaging the jeep,' the guard said.

'Tell the team not to engage. Just follow. Drake is going after the jawbone. I know it. As for that jeep, just capture them - alive,' Phil said the last part and the guard relayed the orders over the radio.

'As soon as they know where they are headed I want them to report in,' Phil said. Ideas flew around in his demented hate-driven mind. He was so close now. All he needed to do was wait. Drake would do all the hard work. Phil was certain that Nate would exchange the jawbone for his friends.

It didn't matter anyways. Phil was going to kill them all regardless but it would be nice to see Drake beg. Beg to save his friends from their cruel inevitable deaths.

The guard left at speed, leaving Phil to his own devices.

Soon he would have Drake's friends. The perfect bargaining chips. Phil fiddled with the gun he was holding. Who said he needed more than one? Maybe he'll just leave one alive, but which one? His musings took him to a happier place. The possibilities were endless.

It was nice to be on the winning side for once.

Phil rubbed his hands in glee.

When he finally had his hands on that jawbone, nothing would be able to stop him.

Nothing.

…

Elena stared at her son. He was sleeping.

The hospital room was quiet and machines whirred quietly in the background. Unlike last time, the noise was comforting. It probably had something to do with the fact that her son was now out of the woods, so to speak. The doctors had confirmed that after this final day of observation he would be ready for discharge.

More than anything else, Elena just felt tremendous relief. Her son was fine, she was fine and Nate was, hopfully, fine. It was amazing how just seeing him, no matter how briefly, had bolstered her system. Just being able to spend time with him seemed to give her more strength.

She thought fleetingly of Nate for a moment. What was he doing? Was he ok?

Chances were he was getting into buckets full of trouble.

Elena shook her head to clear her mind of the morbid image that had formed. It consisted of little more than his body lying dead on an island somewhere.

That wasn't going to happen. She wasn't going to let it.

Without realising her hands had fisted in her lap.

She hadn't gone through all this just to lose Nate. She was not a useless female character.

Elena stood and with a final look at her resting son, left the hospital.

* * *

**I got annoyed writing this because Word didn't know what ow was…that is clearly a word…lol…I can understand the fuss it kicked up after I typed Wanalulu…**

**I'm pretty sure all the male people I know who drive reverse with their hands on the passenger seat...none of the women do lol...  
**

**Sometimes I feel sorry for Miguel…he gets picked on a lot**

**It saves time and effort if the clue Nate had was precise rather than a riddle...I'm not sure I could think of one...I apologise for my laziness  
**

**Not much happened here but it was enough…**

**Thanks for reading and all that…you guys are well good…**


	33. Short Pasty Man

**Good evening**

**It was very windy today…unnaturally so…**

**In the last chapter Phil decided to capture the heroes who were in a jeep and follow Nate and Chloe who were going after the jawbone. Elena has decided to do something reckless.**

* * *

Chapter 32

The jeep fishtailed at first as the wheels fought for purchase in the loose earth but then they were flying. The speedometer needle steadily ticked past the increments.

Sully gripped the handle set on the door. His teeth clenched in absolute terror. He was surprised that his heart hadn't given out yet.

Ted aimed for the rocky ramp. This wasn't a gorge; it was a matter of a few meters. It was possible.

Well, he hoped it was possible.

Sparks flew as the front fender hit stone. There was no going back now.

The jeep suddenly tilted backwards. Miguel and Barry screamed.

They all felt it; the single moment where solid ground disappeared. The jeep careened forward, the tyres spinning uselessly. Ted forced himself to look out the windscreen. They were in the air, travelling with speed towards the jeep that blocked them in with the handbrake skid.

For a moment, it looked like they were going to make it.

The soldiers stared, slack jawed and eyes wide. Hah, Ted thought, look at us.

Then the bonnet of the jeep dipped.

Uh oh.

Ted's smugness slid to fright as their jeep descended towards the other vehicle with murderous intent.

'We're not gonna make it,' Sully manage to shout as he opened his eyes.

It wasn't exactly confidence boosting but it was enough to shake Ted out of his frozen state. Somebody here had to keep their cool and it didn't look like it was going to be any of the others.

Ted was not going to die in a giant fireball inferno.

He would not let that happen to him.

He was still waiting for Chloe to say those words.

With a desperate yell, he mashed his foot against the accelerator as the front two wheels of their jeep connected with the roof of the other vehicle. The engine growled and there was a crunching of metal but Ted's luck was still in date and the jeep hauled itself over the roof and onto the other side of the road with a crash.

The soldiers shouted and ran back to their car.

Miguel whooped. Sully took a deep breath. Ted drove on without batting an eyelid. It wasn't over yet. They were still being chased.

Barry scowled, adrenaline pumping, 'I think that soldier just called me a short pasty man. Well, that really takes the biscuit doesn't it? I'll give them a proper seeing to. Right-o' chaps.'

Without so much as a warning Barry shoved himself through the sun roof and let the soldiers witness the wrath of the British. Today it was a hail of bullets but it could have easily been a shower of scalding hot tea.

It all really depended on how Barry felt.

With a shout that sounded a lot like 'God save the Queen!' Barry finished off the jeep and they drove away from the smouldering wreckage with relief.

While he wondered about Barry's sanity, Ted was rather glad that he'd stepped in. A few minutes driving got them to the river that bisected the island and in an effort to avoid more patrols Ted drove along the river bank which didn't look like it was being used as a road.

It was misty here and silent. If Ted was in the right frame of mind he wouldn't have stopped and kept on driving but he was just glad to be away from the enemy and was replaying that rocky ramp over and over in his mind.

He eventually stopped the car.

The four men sat in silence.

Sully whistled, 'Well, that was interesting.'

Ted pried his fingers from the steering wheel which he had been holding onto a little too tightly.

Miguel patted Barry on the back, 'That was some shooting.'

Barry shook his head, 'It was nothing and they _were_ being really rude.'

'We need a proper plan, they know we're out here somewhere,' Ted said after he had composed himself.

Barry reached down, 'The radio is stuck under Sully's seat and I can't get it out. Oh, wait a minute; I think I've got it.'

There was a cracking sound followed by an 'Oh.'

Ted turned in his seat to see Barry holding a very broken radio in his hand. He slapped a hand to his face. What had he done? What had he done to be lumbered with such inconsistent people? Sure, Barry had just taken out a whole jeep by himself, but he had also just managed to break their only communication to Nate.

Great.

Barry put the broken thing down, 'Well, at least we have the phones.'

Ted shook his head, 'I don't think we should use them. Phil could pinpoint our locations.'

Barry threw his phone out the window as if it were on fire.

Ted sighed, 'You didn't really have to do that.'

Barry looked sheepish, 'Oh.'

He opened the door of the jeep and went to retrieve it. Sully watched him go through his own window and frowned when Barry bent down, scooped his phone up and just stood. He stared into space.

Sully grumbled and got out of the jeep himself.

'Goddamned, Barry, why're you just standing there like a goddamned lemon?' Sully asked with all the sensitivity a man like him could muster.

Barry pointed through the trees.

Sully followed the direction.

Miguel and Ted joined them when they didn't return.

'What are you guys doing?' Ted asked and then saw what they were staring at.

'Crap,' Miguel accurately said.

Ted felt the drumming of his own heart as he stared through the trees and into the clearing.

The Spartoi stared back.

…

Chloe splashed some water on her face and told herself that she wasn't worried.

The radio hadn't picked up anything for a while now and both Nate and Chloe were trying to keep it light hearted.

It was only too easy to think of the worst case scenarios.

Nate flicked to the compass he had the foresight to bring with him.

'We need to keep following the river this way,' he said. Chloe dried her face and nodded.

'Alright, when we were coming down the cliff, I'm pretty sure I heard gunshots,' she said, tired of avoiding the subject of what had happened to their friends.

They began the walk towards the centre of the island.

'Yeah, I heard them too,' Nate said finally, 'Phil's men seem to be using an encrypted radio channel, I don't have a clue what's going on. They'll be alright though. They always are.'

Chloe hoped this was true, 'Can I ask you something?'

'Sure.'

'Why did you choose me? You always hang out with Sully for these things,' Chloe asked, letting curiosity getting the better of her.

'What? You mean it's unusual for a guy to team up with an attractive woman when the only other choices are an old guy, a weird pilot, a short pasty man and an attractive dude?'

Chloe laughed, 'If I didn't know you any better I would have just accepted that but there must be something more. They're all capable people-,' she frowned for a moment, 'well, Sully and Ted are. I'm not sure about the other two.'

Nate smiled at this, 'To be honest I chose you because I wanted to ask you something.'

Chloe had a bad feeling about this, 'If it's about emotions and stuff, I'm not sure I'm the one you want to ask.'

'I need to ask a woman.'

Chloe raised an eyebrow.

'Look, I just wanted to know if I should…y'know…think about marriage or something,' Nate said hotly.

'Oh boy, now I'm sure you don't want to be asking me all this. I don't know but if you do propose don't do it like that,' Chloe said.

'You know, you're like me. Adventuring is in your blood. Did you think ten years ago you'd be where you are now?' Nate asked.

Chloe shrugged but could see where he was getting at, 'You have a woman you love and a son. I'm guessing you never saw that coming.'

Nate kicked at a branch, 'My life is turning upside down. It was simple before.'

'You still could have asked Sully this.'

'I couldn't. We're in the same boat. You and I,' Nate said with conviction.

'Sorry?' Chloe asked.

'You and Ted. Me and Elena. We have people to love. I just wanted to know what we were going to do about it,' Nate explained.

Chloe was going to say something about Sully but got waylaid, 'Excuse me? Ted and I. We're not in love.'

Nate gave her a death stare. True, he only knew because Elena had told him this was probably the case but Chloe didn't need to know that.

Chloe felt her hackles raise, 'We're talking about you and Elena. I've got nothing to do with it.'

'I'm not going to argue with you,' Nate said, 'I love Elena and I love my son but I also love being an adventurer. You love Ted and you also love adventuring. Ted strikes me as the type of guy who wants a family-.'

'Stop right there,' Chloe held up a hand. Once, she had thought the same thing and she was very sure she couldn't do the family thing. She couldn't stay in one place for so long and she wasn't a fan of children. She didn't like these kinds of thoughts. They felt alien to her.

'Nate, you love Elena and that should be enough. Marry her, while you're alive. Stop the adventures. Be a stay at home dad. Is that what you want me to say?' she asked, irritated.

The forest got darker as the trees closed in.

Nate muttered to himself and then spoke louder, 'I don't know. I don't know what to do.'

Chloe rolled her eyes, 'I'm pretty sure you're making this into a bigger problem than it already is. Elena loves you back, you seem to forgetting that. She will love whether you continue the adventures or not.'

'I just know that Elena doesn't want me to do the adventure thing,' Nate said quietly.

Chloe was silent for a moment, 'At least ask her. Elena has been through a lot. Give her some space. She isn't being selfish. She's just worried. She sees a future where you're not in it because you've been shot to death and she's alone. Her and the baby. It's understandable. But there's also the other future, the one where you guys make the perfect family and nobody throws grenades at you and no one shoots at you. Which one do you think she wants?'

Nate was only vaguely aware of his surroundings.

If he wasn't so distracted by emotions he would turned the other way. The mist grew thicker.

'If Ted told you to stop doing the adventure thing what would you do?'

Chloe had asked herself the same thing. More than once. She had never found an answer.

'I don't know,' she said truthfully. Ted had somehow inserted himself into her thoughts and life. When she did things she caught herself thinking about him. She'd noticed it more when she was doing something reckless and potentially life threatening. Ted made Chloe feel uncomfortable. He had some power over her that she didn't quite understand. It was unsettling.

Chloe was on a one way road.

A one way road to love.

She didn't like it.

Not one bit.

'What's happening with me and Ted and is a little different to your situation. You already have the kid. You just need to talk it through properly with Elena. Even she likes a good adventure now and then,' Chloe said after a while. She shivered. When had it gotten so cold? Weren't they just in the sun?

Nate stopped walking.

'Something's wrong,' he said. Chloe agreed. Now was not the time to be getting all mushy, she pulled herself together just as a low rumble washed over them.

'What is that?' Chloe asked, sticking close to Nate. She clicked the safety on her pistol. Nate did the same.

'It sounds like a car?' he muttered. They left the river and hunkered down in the thick cover of the trees.

The sound of the engine got louder.

Nate jumped out of his hiding place, gun raised. He thought this would surprise the driver enough to throw him off his stride and crash.

He was right.

He wished he wasn't.

…

The Spartoi had not moved in over a hundred years.

There hadn't been a need to.

There was nowhere for it to go and no one left for it to kill and so it had sat in a clearing. It had no purpose and nothing to wait for. It just sat.

But now there were things moving in the forest. It wasn't animals. The Spartoi knew what they looked like.

These were humans.

If the Spartoi had any real emotions, right now it would be feeling joy.

The Spartoi remembered humans. They were fun. They ran away. Something to chase. Something to play with.

The Spartoi moved. It slowly unfolded, shaking loose encroaching greenery that now considered its body home.

The humans ran.

If it could, the Spartoi would have smiled.

…

Miguel was still screaming even when they had all ran back to the jeep and were driving away.

Barry slapped him. Miguel stopped but looked out of the back window.

The Spartoi was following them, smashing trees with reckless abandon.

'What the heck is that thing doing here?' Sully panted. He was really getting too old for this kind of crap.

Ted concentrated on going as fast as possible without crashing. He flicked his eyes to the rear view mirror. Not good.

The Spartoi was fast.

It brought back memories. Bad ones. Dark caves and glowing red eyes that was fit for nightmares. Ted grunted. He wondered what to do. Adrenaline coursed through his system. Well, they had just jumped over a car using a rocky ramp. Who's to say they couldn't get through this?

Ted formed a rather hastily put together plan.

'Sully, we're going to find out where Phil's camp is. The last thing he'd be expecting is a Spartoi. Use Barry's phone. Get them to come after us. Maybe then we can see where they are all coming from.'

Sully liked the idea. In theory.

In reality it could go wrong.

It was about to sooner than Sully had ever imagined.

A man jumped out of the bushes.

…

The policeman hunched down in his seat. The helicopter was heading to the island. It was accompanied by ten more. The policeman wasn't going to take this Phil lightly.

What got to him most was the woman who sat next to him.

Her blond hair was tied back and her expression was serious.

The policeman shook his head. How had she ever persuaded him to let her come with them?

The pilot of the helicopter cut through his thoughts.

'Sir, we've got a visual on the island,' he pointed to one of the windows.

Both the policeman and Elena Fisher peered out at the small tear-drop shaped island.

As beautiful as it looked from up here, the policeman knew it would be anything but. Despite his career choice the policeman didn't like violence. But somehow he knew that's all he would he would find down there.

He looked at Elena.

She stared back, her jaw set in determination.

If only he felt as confident as she did.

…

Ted slammed the breaks but he was going way too fast. He wrenched the steering wheel to the left.

'Holy crap! That's Nate,' Sully shouted and was thrown to the side of jeep as it swerved round and headed for tree.

The impact was a good 'un.

Sully's body snapped forwards and was hoicked back again by the seat belt. His face narrowly missed the dash board. Next to him, Ted's body slumped over the steering wheel. Sully, though he dazed himself, manage to poke his shoulder.

Ted waved an arm at him and lifted his head slowly; blood trickled down his face from a cut on his forehead, 'Crap.'

He put his head back down and closed his eyes.

Miguel and Barry were more or less fine and suffered no worse than whiplash.

Before anyone could say anything, Nate wrenched opened the door.

'Are you guys alright?' he asked, his face a special shade of white.

'What the Goddamned crap did you think you were doing?' Sully roared at him, 'Jumping out at moving cars. Yeesh.'

Chloe had caught up with Nate by now and defended him, 'He thought you were the bad guys, it's your fault you didn't tell us anything-.'

She caught sight of Ted's prone form and froze.

Her mind went blank for a moment. It was not a nice feeling.

She reached out a hand and pushed his shoulder.

Ted grunted.

It wasn't much but it was enough. Chloe's mind resumed normal function. She wouldn't show the relief. Wouldn't give Ted the satisfaction. But she was so very glad when he sat up, albeit with unfocused eyes.

'Are you ok?' she asked with a controlled voice. Ted looked at her.

'A man just crashes in a car, comes out all bloody and you just ask 'Are you ok?'. Where's the hysterical screaming and tears and the 'I love you' and the kiss of life and all that blah?' he said.

Chloe gave him a flat look that made Ted smile.

'I guess I'll have to make do,' Ted muttered and climbed out of the car.

Barry followed suit, 'I don't want to ruin the moment or anything but we are being chased y'know.'

'By what?' Nate asked.

Miguel joined them, 'By a Spartoi.'

Chloe and Nate looked at each other.

Then the Spartoi roared.

The heroes ran.

…

Phil listened to the guard's report.

When it finished he slammed his fist into the man's face. He crumpled to the floor.

Phil sat back down and picked at his lip nervously.

Flying jeeps. Well, that was just great. Now he had no bargaining chips. Not one.

Phil beckoned to another guard who approached with caution.

'What about Drake?' he asked.

'Uh, apparently they were heading towards the centre of the island. Something about a clearing there.'

Phil smiled. This, at least, was something to go on. The centre of the island, eh? That wouldn't take very long to get to by car.

'Ready a jeep,' he ordered, 'and some men.'

If he got there before Nate it would be a perfect place to set up an ambush.

The man he had punched slowly picked himself up.

'Uh, sir, you didn't let me finish. There's something else.'

Phil looked at him distractedly, 'Yes, what is it?'

'The police are here.'

* * *

**I am a waste person…I still haven't got Uncharted… I'm not sure I will before I go back to University…so I will probably be behind for a long time lol…**

**Now that the holidays are nearly over all those things that I left to last minute are coming back to haunt me…mainly revision…Eurgh…**

**Scalding hot tea in the face…yeah that's how we British roll lol…**

**Anyways, I have planned the epilogue of the story without giving any thought to the actual main story end…good going…I could never do this as a job**

**The other day I saw the film Limitless…I could finish this story and ten sequels with that drug…and they'd actually be good lol**

**Now that I read through this, there wasn't really any good reason to split them up except to the have Nate and Chloe talk about absolute rubbish for a while lol…it is way too hard to write emotional things**

**Thanks for reading and doing all that awesome stuff that you do…**


	34. Arse

'**Sup**

**Sorry for the wait**

**Good news everyone…I finally bought Uncharted 3…still haven't played it though lol…it's at home while I'm at uni…**

**I realised in the last two chapters I forgot that Phil was missing a leg…luckily I didn't write him doing something that required both of them…**

**The following chapters have given me trouble in that I didn't really know how to deal with Phil…I came up with a lot of sticky ends for him and couldn't pick…sadtimes…**

**In true me style, I have rushed the last few chapters without thinking about them and now I am wondering what to do next**

**In the last chapter Phil found out that the police had arrived, Nate and the others are being chased by a Spartoi and Ted was in a car crash…that is all…**

* * *

Chapter 33

When the fist slammed into Nate's gut, he felt the air leave his body. He fell to the floor, a crumpled winded mess.

As he struggled to find breaths, his attacker took the opportunity to plant his boot in the hero's chest. Ribs snapped.

Nate gasped for air; crimson spittle gathered at the corners of his mouth.

His vision grew hazy and as he teetered on the edge of consciousness, Nate wondered how he had got into this situation at all. Didn't he usually win the decisive battles?

In the foggy depths of his mind Nate thought he heard a familiar click. It sounded muffled, as if far away, but soon enough a shadow fell over his prone body.

Someone stood over him a gun held in their hand. Nate wasn't surprised to find that it was pointing at him. For some reason he felt the odd urge to smile, later, he would put it down to oxygen starvation.

He grinned a bloody grin as the attacker pulled the trigger.

…

_A few hours before_

Nate was tired of running but the thought about his pursuer actually catching with him was enough to keep him going.

He was sure his friends were thinking something similar.

With grim realisation, he realised that he would have to come up with a plan and fast. The Spartoi would be upon them soon.

Consciously aware of the fast flowing river beside him, a thought occurred to Nate. Huh, a fast flowing river. That sounded handy.

Before he could make the connections himself Nate heard a splash. Turning he saw that Ted had somehow ended up in the water.

Chloe had seen Ted slip and fall into the water. She had watched with an incredulous stare. She didn't slow down though.

'You have got to be kidding me,' Sully huffed, his head turning to watch as Ted's bobbing body was carried away by the river.

Sully was even more confused when he saw Nate do the same thing.

He didn't even have time for a 'Goddamn' before Barry leapt into the river too.

Sully caught up to Chloe and Miguel.

'Can someone tell me what the heck is going on?' he gasped.

'Apparently they've all decided that jumping into the river is the best way to deal with this situation,' Miguel explained calmly.

'How is that gonna help?' Sully asked.

'I guess they're hoping they'll drown. It's probably better than getting caught by the Spartoi,' Miguel, the fountain of all wisdom supplied.

Chloe grunted. 'I think that it's more likely that Ted fell in and then Nate thought it was a clever ploy to avoid the Spartoi and did the same thing.'

'And Barry?'

'He probably thought that Nate had come up with the plan and thought that if Nate was doing it, then it was probably a good idea to do the same thing,' Chloe said without breaking stride, 'Come to think of it, Ted was complaining of dizziness. No wonder he fell in the river.'

Sully managed a gape, 'You're lack of concern for the guy is really something. Y'know that?'

Chloe stopped.

'Look, we're being chased by a Spartoi. There wasn't any time for him to recover, we just had to start running,' she snapped. Ok, she _was_ worried, but this wasn't the time or place to be thinking of mushy feelings.

She needed to concentrate on getting the hell away from the Spartoi.

Miguel glanced uneasily behind him. Staying still was not a good idea. He looked at the other two and gave them an apologetic smile.

He leapt into the river.

'Not him too,' Chloe muttered. The thudding footsteps of the Spartoi were drawing closer. She turned to Sully.

He was not in a good condition. Wheezy breathing and a grey face all but made the decision for her.

She grabbed his arm and pushed him into the river just as the Spartoi crashed through a barrier of trees.

Without even looking behind her she followed suit.

The Spartoi lumbered up to the river bank and watched, head swivelling, as its prey escaped.

With nothing better to do it returned to its old post.

It sat down heavily and waited.

The Spartoi was unaware that its next quarry was already approaching.

…

Elena stood in the abandoned camp.

Strewn papers rustled in the light breeze. A trampled cigarette smoked on the ground.

They had just missed them.

The Turkish policeman swore and barked some orders.

Teams of men were sent in search parties. The helicopters they had arrived in were sent around the island, although the chances of seeing anyone in the dense forest were slim at best.

Elena wandered aimlessly through the empty tents till she found one that was slightly different. For one it was bigger, but more obviously, it looked like it was used more.

There were tables and radios set up on folding tables. A large map of the island dominated a cork board. A chair that had probably been knocked over in the hasty evacuation had fallen on a crutch.

The crutch looked like something out of a James Bond film. It had buttons.

Gingerly, Elena took a hold of it and pressed one. A blade erupted from the end with a metallic hiss. Elena nearly dropped it in surprise.

There was no doubt in her mind that this was Phil's. Unfortunately, it looked like he wouldn't miss it for there were a stack of things at the back of the tent which probably meant he had one with him already.

The policeman found her soon after and eyed the weapon she was holding.

'What is that?' he asked.

Elena passed it to him.

He raised an eyebrow at the blade protruding from the end of the walking-aide.

'Things like this…actually exist?'

Elena left the detective with the crutch and moved on in an effort to gain some information. There must be something here that would tell her where Phil was, or her friends for that matter.

The map of the island was also projected onto the end wall of the tent. Elena stopped at it and tried to think.

Here's what she knew: Nate and the gang had gone to the island and had arrived before the police had. Phil had somehow abandoned his whole camp and was now…somewhere. Elena sighed. It wasn't a lot to go on. She didn't even know anything about what Phil wanted to do on the island.

The detective caught up to her and took in the giant map. It was marked with the camp's location and the patrol routes. More recent to these was a red circle that looked like it had been drawn in a hurry. It covered a small patch of clear land in the centre of the island. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it stood for something important.

'Since Phil has left this place I think it will make an excellent base of command,' the detective said after a while and tapped the red circle with the top of the crutch, 'and this is the first place we're going to visit.'

'_Uh, sir, we've found something.'_

The policeman grabbed the radio from his belt, 'What is it?'

'_Some bodies._'

The detective and Elena shared an uneasy glance. Elena couldn't help but feel her stomach sink. She hoped with every fibre of her being that those bodies did not belong to her friends. It couldn't end like this.

'Where are you?' the policeman continued, sensing his companion's discomfort. He knew he shouldn't have allowed her to come. What had he been thinking? He had practically approved whatever half brained scheme these foreigners had come up with and now there was a possibility that they could all be dead.

'_On the edge of the camp, where the tents meet the river._'

The policeman said something in Turkish and made to leave the tent.

Elena followed, unable to push down the growing sense of dread inside of her.

…

The water was cold, its speed relentless.

Chloe made a mental note never to jump into fast flowing rivers again.

At some point in her journey down river the water had turned to rapids, complete with pointy rocks and treacherous drops. Chloe curled up into a ball and let the river carry her to safety. Just before her lungs gave out, she felt the forces pushing her subside. Unfolding carefully she kicked out to the surface and gasped painfully in the afternoon air. A wave of dizziness coupled with intense nausea gave Chloe the correct impression that she had hit her head hard on something, possibly a large boulder. Muzzily, she looked around; the river had carried her to a stretch of forest that was less dense than when she had jumped in. There was a sand bar extending outwards where the river lazily meandered and dropped whatever load it was carrying. Chloe swam across and was relieved when she felt gravel scrape at her feet and legs. Semi-crawling she came to stop on the pebbles and gave up her consciousness for a few moments of well-deserved rest.

If she had stayed awake a little longer she would have noticed that she wasn't alone.

…

Miguel looked at the body before him.

He should probably try something. CPR came to mind.

Although a small part of him realised that this particular person would not want to be resuscitated by him, the majority of Miguel's genuinely well-meaning mind-set was determined to save this person's life.

Miguel sat back and tried to remember the rudimentary first aid lessons he had once attended. Once he thought he knew what he was doing. Miguel positioned himself over the prone body and placed his hands, one over the other, on what he hoped was the sternum. He paused. Wait, was he meant to do the mouth to mouth thing first?

Miguel wished he had paid more attention in his first aid classes.

Well, time was a-wasting and Miguel decided that it couldn't do any harm to try the mouth to mouth first.

He leant over.

…

When Chloe's eyes opened, her first reaction was to hit the thing in front of her as hard possible. So she did.

It was only moments after this that she finally recollected her somewhat foggy memories.

Jumping in a river, hitting her head, finding somewhere to rest, seeing Miguel's face so close to hers…

The scenes ran together as Chloe sat up painfully. Miguel was nursing newly bruised face.

'Where are the others?' Chloe managed to ask.

Miguel looked at her, silently accepting that he had been hit in the face. He expected no less from Chloe.

'I don't know. I woke up here a few minutes ago and you were just lying there all dead like so I thought I would try save you. Maybe the others got washed up somewhere else,' Miguel said.

Chloe cradled her head in her hands. 'Crap' was her first and foremost thought but then she started to plan. They needed to find the others and the best place to do that would probably be the centre of the island. That's where the last jawbone was and if Chloe knew Nate, which she did, he would head there first.

With a wobble, Chloe stood and motioned to Miguel. Her arms were scratched and the back of her head was bleeding freely from the collision with a rock but Miguel didn't doubt her leadership in all this.

'What's the plan?' he asked.

Chloe looked around her. If her skills at geography told her anything, it was that they were in the lower course of the river, close to the sea. They needed to head back the way they had floated to reach the middle of the island.

She pointed with a shaky arm, 'We're going that way.'

Miguel didn't say anything but set off.

Chloe sighed and shook her head. Alarmingly, her vision swam in front of her but after a moment it settled down. She was not in a good shape. She definitely couldn't afford a run in with an angry Spartoi or another dip in the rapids.

Not for the first time in her life, Chloe wished that she had a normal life. Although, oddly, this time she hoped Ted was in it too.

…

Ted wasn't really sure what was happening anymore. He had been running. He had been dizzy. He had fallen into a river.

He barely remembered to consciously fight the urge to gasp for air as the water carried him away.

Minutes seem to tick by and Ted was pretty sure he was going to die, which wasn't really helpful at this point. He still had things to do.

Luckily for Ted, his head broke the surface of the water a few seconds later and with surprising determination grabbed an overhanging branch.

He fought his way over to the river bank and collapsed.

When he woke, he was looking down the barrel of a rifle. It was disconcerting. Ted turned his head from side to side. Sully and Barry were laying either side of him. Their eyes were closed.

The man who happened to be holding the rifle above Ted's head realised that Ted was awake and with a curse jumped backwards. The man's comrades rushed forwards and checked for pulses on the other two bodies.

Not a moment passed before Sully started to choke and splutter.

'What the crap?' happened to be the first thing he said.

'I didn't know you had fallen into the river too,' Ted said to him.

Sully looked distracted by the company and guns but turned to Ted, 'Yeah, it's a long story but who are these guys?'

'I have no idea,' Ted replied, 'good guys, I hope.'

Sully tried to remember how many times he had woken up to see the 'good guys'. The number wasn't very inspiring. He was about to say as much when somebody rushed towards them.

A blonde woman flung her arms around Sully's neck.

Huh, he thought, so it was the 'goodies'. That was new.

…

Nate opened his eyes.

His body felt like it had taken on a battering ram. He winced as his muscles tried to move.

Jumping into rivers was not a good idea, especially when you had no idea where they led.

Sitting up, Nate took stock of his surroundings. The river had deposited him in a clearing which was unnaturally foggy. Nate knew what this meant. The Spartoi was around. He just wasn't sure exactly where.

This also meant another thing though.

Nate had finally arrived at the final resting of place of the last surviving dragon jawbone.

He stood uneasily.

He had done it. He had found the clearing. Now all he needed to do was grab the jawbone and destroy it before Phil could get his hands on it.

This was easier said than done because there was a portly, one-legged man pointing a gun at him.

…

'Ewww.'

Chloe frowned at Miguel who shrugged.

'What? Look at them, they are pretty manky,' he said in his own defence.

Chloe had to agree. The mangled bodies of what looked to be some of Phil's men did give rise to feelings of disgust. Twisted necks and broken limbs galore.

'What do you think happened to them?' Miguel asked.

'The Spartoi,' Chloe said flatly and if they weren't careful, it would probably get them too. There wasn't any fog about but you could never be sure.

They had so far made good progress. The river was changing profile; getting thinner and faster as they headed upstream. They should reach the middle soon.

Miguel was rifling through the dead men's pockets when Chloe snapped out of her thoughts.

'Uh, Miguel, what do you think you're doing? A minute ago you were saying how disgusting they were.'

Miguel looked at her guiltily, 'Well, they won't need this stuff anymore.'

Chloe raised an eyebrow, and regretted it instantly as the skin stretched at her weeping wound. Miguel rummaged some more and recovered weaponry, a small first aid kit and a radio which still worked. He handed Chloe the first aid kit and set about fiddling with the radio.

After a minute or two Miguel picked up a channel that was broadcasting.

They listened for a while.

'That's definitely not English,' Chloe said, 'it's probably the Turkish police.'

Miguel nodded and flicked the channels again.

They stumbled upon Phil's channel not a few moments later.

It was standard stuff. Patrols were splitting up and hiding from the police. It seemed as though teams of men were heading to the centre of the island as per Phil's request.

That didn't bode well. The last thing Chloe and Miguel needed was for the area to be flooded with enemies.

It was going to get worse.

Phil's voice was a tinny echo in the speaker. Both Miguel and Chloe froze at his words.

'_I've captured Drake. Get to the clearing now!'_

A second passed.

Miguel and Chloe looked at each other, an unspoken agreement made.

Where before it had been about making jokes and being silly, now it was the time to be serious.

They needed to save Nate.

They needed to hurry.

…

The relief Elena felt when she saw that her friends weren't dead would have been hard to measure. You wouldn't have been able to find a scale large enough.

Barry, Sully and Ted related their side of the story. It didn't really surprise Elena. When you such a varied group together things were bound to get weird.

The detective had some trouble getting past the fact that there was a Spartoi around.

'And what is this Spartoi?' he asked, the word feeling alien in his mouth.

'Uh,' Sully began, wondering where to being.

'It's a monster,' Barry said, the detective looked at him with a flat look.

'A monster?'

'Yeah,' Barry said equally as serious, 'it likes to kill people and has an unnatural fog following it.'

The detective doubted the sanity of the people in front of him but there was something nagging at him.

'Some of my men radioed in, they reported seeing a strange fog,' he said.

Elena, Sully, Ted and Barry shared worried glances.

'What did they do then?' Barry asked.

'They went in it,' the policeman said.

There was a silence.

'Well, they're probably dead then,' Barry said softly.

Their reactions unnerved the detective. Monsters? The very idea was crazy but the way these people acted made him wonder. Their conversation moved on and the detective felt his mouth slowly drop open. Spartoi, dragon jawbones, dragon teeth, how could he even begin to keep up?

If anything he needed to warn his men. This was already getting out of hand.

The policeman called his second in command over and issued terse orders.

The man left at a run.

'Ok, from what I understand, Phil wants this dragon jawbone which is at the centre of the island. I'm putting together a team and we're going to head over as soon as possible.'

'We're coming with you,' Ted said.

The policeman opened his mouth to refuse but before he could say anything a police underling hurried up and whispered something in his ear.

The detective's face gave away no emotion but the four heroes could tell something was wrong instantly.

'What's the matter?' Sully asked when the other man had left.

The policeman's eyes flickered, 'My men intercepted some of Phil's communications.'

'And…?' Barry urged the man on.

Somehow Elena knew what he was going to say. It always did end like this. No matter what happened. It was always Nate who had to face the big bad boss.

'It seems as though Nathan Drake has been captured by Phil. He is holding him at the clearing in the middle of the island,' the policeman said, he spoke at Elena but she could meet his gaze.

Elena swore to herself that she wasn't going to be the useless female character and there was only one way to make that happen and that was to give in to her anger. At Phil, at Nate, at the whole bloody world for conspiring against her.

She had not asked for any of this. The baby was a surprise, a good one but still unasked for. It forced her and Nate to confront issues they had never even thought about. Their relationship, was it going anywhere? Were they ready for this? Were they ever going to be? Chloe finding that blasted jawbone and asking Nate to help was definitely not wanted. That had led to more trouble than it was worth and it wasn't even finished yet. It forced them to worry about it each other on a whole new level. Can people even have adventures when you have a child to think about? The trouble with her pregnancy was something else that Elena fretted about. She was that close to losing something that she and Nate had grown to love. If that wasn't enough the baby was then kidnapped by Phil. Whatever being was in charge of her karmic balance must really hate her. It was time to get things done. She would make sure that no one got in the way of her happiness.

Elena was done playing the fool. She was going to kick somebody's ass. She had every right to.

'I think the term you're looking for is 'arse',' Barry supplied.

Elena looked at him.

'You were talking out loud,' Sully said.

'Oops,' Elena said, feeling a little embarrassed that her outburst had been a public performance.

'It's ok,' Ted said, 'you definitely have the right to kick somebody's ass.'

'Arse,' Barry interjected automatically.

The Turkish detective wondered what kind of people he had got himself involved with and then decided to bench his thoughts. Now was the time to save Mr Drake and arrest Phil. He turned on his heel and headed towards a cleared area of land where a helicopter had arrived.

Elena began to follow but the policeman held up a hand, 'Ms Fisher, I've let you come this far and to be honest I don't even know why I let you. It isn't safe and you've just had an operation.'

The look on Elena's face was rather scary.

'That doesn't matter. I need to save Nate,' she said with a steely voice.

'I could arrest you,' the detective said in an attempt to show some authority.

'You could but I would find a way to escape. Whatever you do to try and stop me, it won't work. I am going to that clearing and there is nothing you can do about it so you might as well stop wasting our time and get in the damn helicopter,' Elena said. Barry clapped.

The policeman gaped at her. Why did everyone here have a death-wish? More importantly, why was no one listening to him?

Sully patted the man's shoulder. 'She's telling the truth, y'know. She's one determined lady and now that the helicopter has landed all neatly over there, why don't we go save the world? Don't worry about us; we know what we're doing.'

The detective gave up. Shoulders slumped; he went over to his men.

Sully looked at the others.

'We have no idea what we're doing, do we?' he asked.

'Not a clue,' Barry said helpfully.

'This is usually how it goes,' Elena said.

'And how does that work out normally?' Ted wondered out loud.

'We win and the bad guy dies a horrible death,' Sully said.

Ted felt bolstered by this but in all honesty was still very worried.

'Uh, guys?'

'There are still lots of things we don't know, things could get ugly,' Ted said.

'We also have no clue as to where Miguel and Chloe are,' Sully added.

'Guys, I'm being serious.'

'We'll know more when we actually get there,' Elena said impatiently.

'Guys!'

The three heroes looked at their British counterpart.

'Yes?' Elena asked.

'They left,' Barry said.

'Who?'

'The police,' Barry answered.

Their heads swivelled towards the helicopter that was no longer there but rapidly ascending.

'Well, son of a-,' Sully was cut off by a stream of colourful curses that Elena saw fit to voice.

There was a moment's silence after her venting was over.

'Are you ok?' Ted asked carefully. Elena shot him a look.

'No.'

Ted backed away, 'Err…ok, I'm going to find us a vehicle.'

He hurried off. Sully and Barry looked the fuming Elena.

'Uh, it's going to be ok. The policeman was just doing his job, he's worried about you.'

Elena looked at Sully who winced but then she sighed and shook her head, 'I know but it's still frustrating. He doesn't have a clue about how dangerous the Spartoi are.'

'I get the feeling he'll find out soon,' Barry said and turned at the sound of a car engine.

Ted had arrived with a heavily laden Jeep. He got out and threw the keys to Elena who was grateful for the gesture.

They piled in and Elena gunned the engine.

Finally, she was doing something useful.

She was going to save Nate.

God help anyone who got in her way.

…

Nate held up his hands in surrender, wishing oh so dearly that he could wipe the smug grin from Phil's face with his fist.

Phil motioned to one of his men.

The burliest man Nate had ever seen handed Phil a radio. He said something into it and then passed it back.

Phil lurched forward in a strange swinging gait brought on by his use of a crutch and stopped a few yards from Nate.

'So then, Drake, how do you want to do this? The easy way or the hard way?'

Nate rolled his eyes at the clichéd speech. This didn't go down well with Phil who summoned the burly man again.

Phil said the word.

Before Nate's already battered body could react the man punched him in the stomach. He wasn't given any time to recover and as his body hit the floor, the man delivered a brutal kick to his chest.

Nate lay on the grass overwhelmed and beaten.

Phil said something. The gigantic guard took out his pistol, cocked it and stepped over the fallen hero. He took aim, but there wasn't really a point, even a blind man could get a hit at this distance. The man frowned as his target grinned at him.

Phil spoke again.

The man complied and pulled trigger.

* * *

**This chapter is a long 'un compared to the last three**

**And once again not much happened lol…**

**If this were a perfect world I would call this chapter the penultimate one…but I don't want to get ahead of myself…since I don't know how this is going to end yet it's probably not a good idea to throw those kinds of labels around**

**It will probably take me ages to write another chapter on the account of me playing Uncharted 3…lots…till I get a platinum...I'll probably still play it after that lol…**

**Although it is the Easter holidays soon so I will have time to write…**

**This chapter reminded me of something that happened a while ago…my mother and I were watching something on the TV and the guy twisted another guy's neck and he died...it didn't make a sound…and then my mother had a massive go at the TV saying that when you twist someone's neck there's always a crack…why wasn't there a crack…I wanted a cracking noise!**

**I don't think mothers are supposed to say things like this lol…how many necks has she broken? Indian housewife by day, Indian housewife ninja by night…a terrifying thought…**

**Thanks for looking at this story and reading and keeping up with it even though I am lazy updater**


	35. Antsy

**Hello**

**I went home for the weekend specifically to play Uncharted lol…unfortunately I didn't get to play that much…typical…I got to the part where Elena comes in for the first time in Yemen and then we go down a well and press buttons and fix gears…lol Elena and Nate…they really can't stay together, can they? At least he gave her a ring…**

**I liked the levels in London at the beginning…the work signs on the warehouses were spot on…**

**I'm also a big fan of Sully twenty years ago…although befriending fifteen year old kids is a bit weird…**

**In the last chapter Elena, Sully, Ted and Barry made a plan, Chloe and Miguel made a plan and Nate got shot…standard**

**This isn't a very long chapter**

* * *

Chapter 34

Chloe felt the tension leave her shoulders only after the last echoes of the gunshot had faded away.

It hadn't sounded that far away.

The quiet was ominous, no birds singing or insects buzzing.

She shared a quick look with Miguel who looked uncharacteristically grim.

It could have been anything. Phil's men could have been fighting the Spartoi. The police could be fighting Phil. Or it could have been one of her friends.

Chloe knew her luck well enough to bet on the latter option. She just hoped that it was her friends doing the shooting.

The silence that followed only confirmed Chloe's suspicions. If you were fighting a Spartoi you wouldn't fire just one round. There was a kind of finality to it that she couldn't quite explain.

Without saying anything, Chloe continued forward, crashing through the foliage as if it were nothing. Miguel followed close behind until he tripped on an old tree root.

There was a moment quiet where Chloe took a deep breath. She wasn't going to go crazy and she wasn't going to shout at Miguel. This really wasn't the time to be tripping over things but it wasn't his fault.

Clumsiness would get them killed.

She turned to the fallen semi-hero and frowned.

Miguel wasn't moving.

'Uh, Miguel?' she said, cautiously approaching her comrade.

Miguel had propped himself up on his palms and was staring intently at the ground in front of him.

'Don't come any closer,' Miguel said quickly. Chloe backed up immediately. Crap, had he landed on a mine or something?

'What is it?' she hissed at him.

'A skeleton.'

…

Elena didn't know how to explain it but she just knew.

Something was wrong.

She instinctively pressed harder on the accelerator and let the Jeep do the rest.

Sully gripped the armrest beside her, 'Is everything ok?' he asked, wincing as the Jeep bounced over the rough terrain.

'Yeah,' Elena said, trying to dismiss the sick feeling inside of her, 'the sooner we get to that clearing the better.'

Sully looked at her sideways but didn't reply. There is definitely something up, he thought. It was probably something to do with Nate. He wished he could say something to her to inspire some confidence or comfort but nothing came to mind. He had said them all before. Luckily for him, Nate was damn near impossible to kill and so his words had paid off in the past.

It felt different somehow this time round.

Not for the first time, the odds were stacked against them. It wasn't that though, Sully mused. Maybe it was to do with the fact that this would be the first time they were saving the world as parents. That probably changed things.

Sully's thoughts were cut short when the car burst through a line of bushes and into a clearing. Elena skidded the car to a halt.

'Do you think this it?' Ted asked, looking through the windows for signs of life. Phil would have reached here ages ago, and since the police were in helicopters Ted expected them at least to be here already.

There was no one around.

Barry stepped out of the car and glanced furtively at the bordering trees. There was no fog but it was a little dark, with overgrown canopies blocking the sunlight.

The others exited the vehicle and Sully consulted a map he had pilfered from the camp.

'This is definitely the place,' he confirmed, 'there aren't any other clearings around and the river is just over there.'

Ted wandered over to the water. On the short walk there, he noticed tire marks and footprints. There were also a lot of small depressions in the dirt. It was as if someone had stuck a thin pole into the ground several times. Considering, the crutch Elena had told them about, Ted was pretty sure that Phil had been here already.

There was nothing to suggest that the police helicopter had landed and left though. Ted skimmed a pebble across the water and felt a little useless. What were they supposed to do now?

If the jawbone had been here, Phil had probably taken it by now. As Ted reached down to take another stone he noticed that there were tracks leading from where the river water lapped at the pebbly bank it had created.

A puddle had formed further up than where the water actually reached. Ted wondered if one of the others had washed up here after they had all jumped in. Following the tracks, Ted started to walk back towards the Jeep. Before he could say anything, Barry called out to them from the direction that Ted was heading to.

'Guys, I've got something,' the British man said.

This got everybody's attention and they hustled over. They looked at Barry expectantly who pointed at the ground.

It wasn't an enlightening scene. It consisted of little more than a puddle of blood slowly being soaked up by the dry ground.

Elena looked at it intently.

Sully gave her a quick look, just to make sure she wasn't going to go hysterical. She didn't but her face was very still. As if she were bottling something up. Not a good sign.

'This could be anyone's blood,' Sully said.

'Yeah, no one can just look at blood and know whose it is,' Barry added.

Elena said nothing. Her mind whirred with the possibilities. None of them heart-warming.

Nate was here. She knew it but where was he now?

Ted had trekked to the far end of the clearing where a fringe of trees looked beaten down.

'I think Phil was here,' he called out to the others, 'they must have gone this way.' Through the broken branches he could make out a pathway that looked like it had been hastily put together. Here and there were small scatterings of red droplets. Whoever had been injured in the clearing had gone this way afterwards.

It didn't take long to realise that the area was darker and not just because of the increased tree cover. It wasn't so much dark as it was fog. Poor visibility could only mean one thing.

Ted wondered why they always had to head towards the monsters.

Elena hurried back to the Jeep.

'What's the rush?' Barry murmured to Sully, 'That's where the bloody Spartoi is. Shouldn't we make a plan or something?'

Sully regarded the younger man for a moment, 'She thinks that's Nate's blood. Knowing Nate, I wouldn't be surprised if it was. If he's out there in a forest, wounded, with a Spartoi after him then we're definitely going to save him. No matter what.'

Barry considered this and shrugged, 'Fair enough, just asking,' the two men turned when they heard Elena lean on the car horn, 'uh, she's gonna be ok, right? She's getting a bit…antsy.'

'As long as Nate's fine, she'll be fine,' Sully said walking towards the vehicle.

'And if Nate's not fine?' Barry wondered out loud.

Ted joined them.

'Then we're screwed.'

…

Nate screamed.

Pain, bright hot and red coursed through his arm from his palm.

Crap.

In his pain addled mind, Nate realised this required more than a crap.

Crappety crap crap.

Nate screwed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. He was no stranger to pain or gunshots for that matter but there was a reason he tried to avoid them. They were unpleasant to say the least.

He lifted his hand high above his face so he could assess the damage.

Sunlight streamed through the wound and blinded him for a second. His hand actually had a hole in it. Great.

Blood pumped from the ragged edges. Dripped onto his face, felt warm.

The gorilla-like flunky stepped back and grinned sadistically.

'You want me to do the other one?' he asked Phil.

Phil was eating a Toblerone with a malicious grin that was slightly detracted from by the fact that he had managed to smear chocolate across his mouth.

He shook his head, 'I think I've made myself clear. So Drake, where is the jawbone?'

Nate wanted to laugh. He tried but he could only manage a hacking cough. Frothy blood splattered. This man was crazy. He honestly thought he could take over the world. The Spartoi would never listen to him. Why did the bad guys have to be so damned stupid?

The only reason they got so far was through sheer luck. Nate's pained and exhausted mind wandered from the current situation. He felt his hand flop back down to his side. His shattered ribs still expelled pain although this was overshadowed by the agony that derived from his punctured hand. His legs were fine but whether they would support this busted body in an all-out run was another thing all together.

Things were not looking up. He was too beat up to do anything by himself. He was going to have to bide his time. This posed its own problems. If Phil didn't have the jawbone and he had already got here that meant that the jawbone wasn't where it was supposed to be.

If that was the case then Nate was just as clueless as Phil as to where the dragon jawbone could be. If Phil figured this out Nate got the feeling that a hole in the hand would be the least of his problems. Try a hole in the head.

Phil realised that his prisoner wasn't paying attention.

He was probably trying to plan an escape route. Phil smiled while chewing. Hah, there was no way Drake could get away from this one. Phil took a moment to relish this sense of control and finished eating the warm chocolate. After he was done he motioned to his hulking assistant who booted Nate in the side.

Nate grunted and managed to sit up.

A wave of dizziness fell upon him but he weathered it out and stared Phil in the eye.

Phil didn't like this and threw his crumpled wrapper to the floor. With a little difficulty he hobbled over to Nate and looked down at him.

'Tell me where the jawbone is,' he said quietly, every word dripped venom.

Nate said nothing.

Phil waved his friend with the gun over and Nate faltered.

'Ok, ok, I know where it is. I'll tell you, just don't shoot me again,' he said as earnestly as he could under the circumstances.

Phil regarded him for a moment before grinning.

'I knew you'd see the light,' Phil said and then his smile disappeared as quickly as it had arrived, 'But remember this, you make one wrong move and I won't hesitate to kill you in the most horrific way I can think of.'

Nate managed to raise an eyebrow. Since Phil's idea of horrific was going one day without a candy bar, Nate thought his chances were pretty good.

'Do that and you'll never get the jawbone,' he said.

Phil hobbled away, 'We'll see.'

Nate looked around as he was hauled to his feet by two nameless soldiers. The only way for him to get away from this situation was if everyone suddenly became very busy. The sort of busy you get when confronted by an unexpected Spartoi.

Squinting at the tree line, Nate was able discern that one direction seemed to have a certain misty quality about it. It seemed like a good choice if he wanted to encounter a certain mythical being. Phil didn't actually know what the fragmented document actually said about the location so Nate had some control over the situation.

Leaving the rest to luck, he ushered the group towards the shadowy trees.

…

The detective, who despite popular belief actually had a name - Tariq, frowned in concentration. He had been keeping in touch with his ground forces who were keeping a tab on Phil's men.

The reports had been standard, thus far. Phil's men were mostly concentrated in the centre of the island. A group of very dead men had been found not long ago. Their bodies had been mangled and Tariq could only attribute this to the Spartoi he had just been told about.

Not long after there were a flood of communications reporting a shooting. The policeman had told his men to converge on the area in question which was, unsurprisingly, the centre clearing.

He had felt a little bad leaving the foreigners behind but he honestly felt that it would be safer for them there. Although, he wouldn't be surprised if he was told that they were making their own way to the clearing. There was something about people like that. They just couldn't stay out of trouble. One day it would get them killed.

Tariq shook his head and listened to the most recent check-in.

'_Sir, we've found a human skeleton_.'

The detective wondered how he should reply.

'Uh, anything interesting there?' he tried.

'_There is something underneath the bones._ _It looks like a... turd_.'

…

Chloe thought that Miguel was more likely to scream than she was.

Peering through the dirt, she caught sight of gleaming white bone set starkly against the dark earth.

'You scared me half to death. I'd thought you had landed on a bomb or something,' Chloe grumbled and picked the other man up. He did look rather shaken but was holding his own. Miguel brushed himself down and kicked away at the loose mud.

A perfectly preserved skeleton was uncovered in a matter of minutes.

This was unexpected.

Chloe frowned. It would have taken years for a body to be picked clean like this.

'You think this could be one of those tomb robbers?' Miguel asked, tilting his head sideways. There was something under the ribcage.

'I guess so,' Chloe said, 'the Spartoi probably got him while he was trying to hide the jawbone or something.'

Miguel started digging around the body. Chloe sighed.

'What are you doing? We don't have time for this.'

'There's something here,' Miguel panted, 'I think it could be-.'

His speech was cut short as he hefted the aged ribs from the ground. They rolled and came to a stop at Chloe's feet.

'Eww,' Chloe muttered and nudged them away with a foot.

Miguel scrabbled in the dirt and lifted something up reverently.

Chloe swore.

Miguel shook the little box. It rattled.

'Wasn't this meant to be in the centre of the island?' Chloe wondered out loud.

Miguel nodded, 'What do we do now?'

Chloe wasn't exactly sure. They should probably still try and find Nate, who was hopefully still at the centre of the island. From there they would make a new plan.

'Let's keep going, we need to find Nate. Does that radio still work?' Chloe asked.

Miguel fiddled with it. There was a lot of static. It seemed that Phil's men had stopped broadcasting or had now changed to an encrypted channel. He shook his head.

An idea occurred to Miguel, 'Mobile phones were working before, why don't we try ringing someone?'

Chloe looked at him, 'My phone was trashed after that dunking in the river. What about yours?'

Miguel produced a very soggy looking phone from a trouser pocket.

'Oh.'

Chloe shook her head. They should concentrate on getting to the centre of the island. Possessing the dragon teeth at this point didn't change much.

They now held more of the cards but since no one knew this it wasn't all that great. She also wasn't one hundred per cent confident about Miguel holding them. He seemed the like the sort of person who would misplace them.

'Uh, Miguel, why don't you give me the teeth and we can get going,' Chloe said as diplomatically as she could.

Miguel looked hurt, 'Ok, I might be a little clumsy, but this is serious stuff. I'll guard these teeth with my life.'

'I wasn't questioning that,' Chloe muttered, 'I was worried you would accidently spill them on the ground and then we'd have a bunch of Spartoi chasing us.'

Miguel scoffed, 'Hah. That would never happen.'

Chloe wasn't so sure.

* * *

**Toblerones are amazing…**

**I'm sorry if this chapter seems a bit disjointed…everyone is separated and there is way too much stuff going on…since this has happened I have realised that there are still a few more chapters in this…more than I would have hoped for…the saying 'flogging a dead horse' comes to mind…please bear with me and the infrequent updates…**

**I have totally forgotten about who has what dragon things…I'm pretty sure as it stands, Nate has a box of glass teeth and there is still one jawbone and box of teeth missing…I think…**

**I also made the massive mistake of not actually giving the policeman a name…I didn't realise he'd be such a big part in all of this…it took me way too long give him one lol**

**Talking of mistakes in chapter 28 I called the Turkish detective the Egyptian detective…sadtimes…**

**I like the Uncharted game so far and hopefully it will have a better ending than Mass Effect 3 which I've heard is so bad the company is rewriting it lol**

**It will never happen but I would like to get a ps vita…just to play Uncharted on it lol…bare monies though**

**Anyways…thanks for reading, reviewing and all that stuff…**


	36. Up On My Segway

**Since writing the last chapter, I have played more Uncharted…still haven't finished it…but on chapter 20 or something…the chapter begins with you riding a horse at speed…my brother told me this was near the end and I was like huh…that seems really short…**

**Elena's lack of concern was amusing when Nate turned up at her hotel door after the whole cruise ship escapade…yeah, we're going to save Sully tomorrow at dawn…you might have been washed up by the ocean and been in countless gun fights but man up and sleep it off for two hours…to make it even worse you can't sleep in the bed but you can have the couch…lol**

**I can smell the end of this story…but just like when I smell a cat crap in the garden on a hot summer day, I have no idea where the smell is coming from…it's just around…and rather strong…and bad**

**That pretty much sums up my views on the matter of this story ending…**

**In the last chapter Nate tricked Phil, Elena went to look for Nate, Chloe and Miguel found some dragon teeth, and the detective dude found a suspicious looking turd…**

* * *

Chapter 35

Tariq, the Turkish detective, held the muddy brown object in front of him.

He had postponed his plans of heading straight for the centre clearing so he could investigate the skeleton his people had found earlier.

Since he had been clued in to the strange story about dragon jawbones, teeth and Spartoi, the detective had decided that finding and acquiring a potential jawbone could only be a good thing.

As long as the jawbone was kept out of Phil's hands, they would be alright.

There was something bugging the detective though.

The others had been going on about teeth. It was the teeth that were actually sown into the ground and gave rise to the Spartoi that everyone was so afraid of.

If this was a jawbone, it definitely didn't have anything that resembled teeth on it. However, there was a series of grooves along one edge of the old bone. Tariq wasn't a detective for nothing and figured that the teeth had been here but were now somewhere else.

It was vital that he got his hands on them before Phil could. He would put a stop to this criminal mastermind. It was his job. He had also grown fairly fond of the foreigners and it would be sad to see them killed over something like this.

Tariq ordered his men to search the area for the teeth. Well, having the jawbone was something at least.

He was just about to pack the item away when all of a sudden; twenty hideously sharp teeth erupted from the bone. Tariq dropped the thing on impulse and stared at it for a few seconds.

Nothing happened.

In the distance a flock of birds took flight.

Some of other policemen looked at the sky and murmured amongst themselves. They weren't exactly happy to be here. Not long ago, they had found a group of their own men who were very obviously dead. The apparent aggression and violence used against the bodies made no sense to the policemen who were still fairly dubious about the Spartoi's existence.

A junior policeman, who had seen the whole thing, squeaked. Tariq's immediate response was to do the same thing but since he was the leader around here managed to suppress it.

He supposed it was safe to call off the search for the teeth.

…

Chloe looked at Miguel.

Miguel looked at Chloe.

'If we survive this, you can make fun of me all you like,' Miguel said, dropping the empty box of teeth.

Chloe stared at the ground before them.

A tree root had tripped Miguel up. Again.

The lid of the box had tipped away and the teeth hit the grassy earth without a sound.

Chloe had watched all of this as if it were a slow motion film. It made for an incredibly painful viewing. You knew the teeth were going to hit the ground and you knew there was nothing you could do to stop them. It all came down to just waiting for the whole world to end.

Chloe knew she shouldn't have trusted Miguel with the teeth. What kind of idiot entrusted Miguel with anything?

This wasn't the time to deliberate over the meaning of Miguel's life, which was apparently just to make everything difficult.

Chloe fully intended to kill the man when they got out of this.

If they got out of this.

The teeth disappeared from view, sinking into the mud as if pulled by an invisible force.

The ground began to tremble.

This was all that Chloe needed to tell her to get the bloody hell out of there. She grabbed Miguel and began to run.

They were only a couple yards away when an explosion announced the arrival of the first Spartoi.

The two heroes ran, neither one of them believing for a second that they would survive.

…

Nate let himself be carried by Phil's men. His arms were draped around two people's shoulders and his feet dangled almost uselessly in between.

He wasn't sure how long he could keep this up. At some point Phil was going to figure out that he was being deceived. Nate just needed enough time for a Spartoi to turn up. That's all he needed. Just one bloody Spartoi.

Typical. When you needed a mythical creature to appear it never did. Only when you didn't want the thing to appear did it actually do so.

The fog was definitely thicker though, which was a good thing. They must be getting close.

Nate squeezed his eyes shut and exhaled slowly. It was something he did often when he thought of his hand. He had been allowed to wrap it in some gauze but that didn't stop the pain, which was beginning to take its toll. Nate knew he was in no condition to do any sort of heroic last boss battle fight. And if this all came down to one, he was going to be in serious trouble.

Phil raised a hand. The band stopped moving.

Nate wanted to gulp. Had he been found out? He was hoping for more time than this.

'Did anyone hear anything?' Phil asked.

The mercenaries paused and listened hard.

'Nope.'

'Nada.'

'I think I heard something that sounded like twenty Spartoi chasing two people.'

Phil nodded, 'That's what I thought.'

Nate was too tired to even begin to comprehend their reasoning behind this conclusion. He had heard the sound too but he couldn't tell what it was. Hopefully, it was a Spartoi. In reality and knowing what his luck was like, it was probably something unhelpful.

Phil shrugged, 'Let's keep moving, it doesn't seem to be headed this way.'

Nate grunted at the discomfort caused by his two bearers moving again.

Phil seemed so preoccupied with finding the final jawbone and teeth that he was forgetting to use his limited common sense. The fog was thick, they were near a Spartoi. A sensible man would retreat.

It was probably in Nate's favour that Phil wasn't such a man.

…

Elena growled.

Sully looked at her. The path had been continuously getting narrower until the jeep had actually got wedged between two tree trunks.

Not to be outdone by this, Elena had revved the engine for a good five minutes before accepting defeat. The three men in the car didn't dare say anything to Elena during this time. There was something about the thunderous look about her person that dissuaded them from saying anything logical.

Without so much as a word, Elena threw open the car door, slammed it shut and then kicked one of the tyres with enough pent up rage to actually cause her more harm than the car.

Sully thought it was time to intervene.

He got out of the jeep and approached Elena who was rubbing her ankle.

'Hey, Elena, you know everything is going to be alright, right?' he began.

Elena shot him a look and Sully immediately shifted into reverse, 'Uh, what I mean to say is that we should stay calm. Think about that anger you have and bottle it up-.'

Ted frowned from the car and stuck his head out the open window, 'I don't think that's what you're meant to say.'

Sully held up a hand, 'Let me finish, bottle up your anger, and then when we get to Phil you can unleash it on him 'cause he damned well deserves it.'

'Hear, hear,' Barry cheered.

Elena was quiet for a moment and then sighed. She dropped onto a rock and rubbed her face with a hand. When she removed it, her expression, thankfully, was a lot more composed.

'You're right. I know I should control myself. But it's kind of hard. Nate's been captured by Phil. He's probably hurt. We're getting closer and closer to a Spartoi. Chloe and Miguel are missing. I miss my son. I want to hold him and tell him we're never going to leave him again. Wait, I actually want my kid to _have _parents. Nate better not be dead. If he is well I'm gonna-.'

Sully could see that Elena was slipping back to anger mode and quickly changed the subject.

'Uh, do you guys hear something?' he asked.

Elena stopped talking and listened. There was something. Faint, but definitely there. A sort of rumbling.

'What is that?' Ted wondered.

Barry frowned as if mulling over something very serious.

'It sounds like twenty Spartoi chasing two people.'

Everyone turned to look at him.

'Sorry, what?' Sully asked, not quite expecting this much detail.

'How did he even get to that conclusion?' Elena muttered.

The sound was getting louder. The sky a little darker.

Over the deep bass of the rumble, there was distinct high pitch overtone which could have been attributed to a female scream.

Ted quickly exited the car with Barry.

'I don't think it's a good idea to stay here,' he said, 'whatever the hell that sound is, it's heading this way.'

Elena agreed and just as they all decided to hurry down the path that hopefully led to Nate and Phil, two people burst through the tree line.

'Chloe? Miguel?' Sully shouted.

It was indeed Chloe and Miguel but Chloe didn't look like she wanted to slow down but then, unsurprisingly, Miguel tripped over.

She slowed and panted, taking in deep breaths of air and her surroundings.

'Oh, hullo,' she said when she saw the others.

'Is that it?' Barry asked. 'What the hell is going on? Why are there twenty Spartoi chasing you?'

Ted looked nervously at the source of the sound. It was still a little distance away but the ground was beginning to shake a little under the footfalls of twenty pairs of inhuman legs.

Even Miguel saw the weirdness in Barry's comment and stared at him.

'How did you know how many Spartoi there were?' he asked.

Barry was about to speak when Ted hurriedly ushered them down the path.

'I'm sure this can wait, we need to run,' he said just as the first Spartoi crashed through the nearby branches.

Leaves and twigs showered the group.

They did not need to be told twice about the running.

…

Tariq stared as the ground below got smaller and smaller.

The helicopter's ascent was meant to allow for a greater visual representation of the island.

He would head to the central clearing first and see what he could find there.

It was probable, by now, that Phil had moved on from there but there may be a clue as to where he was heading next.

As a precaution, Tariq had ordered his men to stay put. There was no need for them to expose themselves to Spartoi when it wasn't necessary. It was better if he scouted ahead first using the helicopter.

By now, the majority of Phil's men who were not with the villain himself had been caught. This was one problem taken care of. Interrogations of the captives had revealed that there were about fifteen men with Phil including Nathan Drake.

The jawbone and teeth had been separated and packed up neatly beside the detective. From what little he had heard Tariq knew that destroying the jawbone would destroy the teeth. This was a very promising thing.

The very idea of dragon jawbones and teeth was an abomination. For one person to wield that much power was just plain wrong. The detective had been more than happy to destroy them. However the jawbone seemed to be a little more resistant to the idea and had so far withstood a fair few attempts on its existence mounted by the police.

It seemed that nothing short of a massive boulder falling on it would do any damage and so Tariq had decided to take it with him just in case an opportunity like that arose.

The detective was happily imagining what his dinner that evening would be when the helicopter suddenly jerked.

Tariq swore and shouted at the pilot who apologised profusely.

'Sir, I'm sorry but I think you should see this.'

The pilot pointed out of the window and down to the forest below.

The tops of trees were shaking wildly from side to side. Something was moving at pace through the forest. Something…large.

Both the pilot and the detective gaped when they saw the culprits rampage through a clearing.

Many, many Spartoi were charging through the greenery. Through a pair of binoculars, Tariq could just make out a blur as a group of people ran back into the cover of the forest.

He was pretty sure it was the foreigners. Damn. What had they gotten themselves into?

Once again, Tariq postponed his plans and ordered the pilot to try and get as close as he could to the heroes.

He had to save them.

Somehow.

…

Nate knew that Phil was finally cottoning on to his plan.

It was surprising that they had even got this far without Phil getting even a little bit suspicious. Well, maybe not that surprising considering what Phil was like.

Visibility was at an all-time low and if it wasn't for his injuries, Nate might have actually slipped away unnoticed.

Phil stopped the group again.

From out of nowhere, Phil had produced an all-terrain Segway for his own personal use. It even had half a leg stuck on it so Phil could just rest his stump on it. He had been holding his crutch like a jousting spear.

It had all the makings of a humorous internet video.

Nate didn't like the Segway. If things got sticky with a Spartoi, Phil could easily get away. Nate had been hoping that Phil, due to his disability, would be easy pickings for the Spartoi. It seemed that this wasn't going to be so.

'If I didn't know any better,' Phil began, 'I would think you were leading us into a trap.'

Nate really wanted to shout 'you don't say' but instead opted to stay quiet.

Hopefully this Spartoi would just appear already.

Phil murmured something to the large second in command, who took out his gun. It was all rather ominous.

Nate liked his hands. They did things. They were…handy. He was pretty sure he was going to need both to live. He could just about get by with one. There wasn't even a point trying if he didn't have any.

'What makes you say that?' Nate asked, watching the man with gun warily.

'Well, we've been walking around for a while now and there isn't anything here. You haven't even told us where you're leading us,' Phil said, 'As far as I can see, you've just led us to the place where the Spartoi was most likely to be.'

There was a moment's silence where the meaning of what had just been said sunk into the speaker.

Phil's brow furrowed, 'Hey-.'

Whatever Phil had been going to say was lost in the piercing scream that echoed through the forest.

Phil's jousting stick drooped a little, 'What was that?'

Nate wasn't expecting this. He was kind of hoping for the inhuman roar that meant a Spartoi was around.

This kind of sounded like…a Miguel scream. Although that would be ridiculous. What would he be doing here?

And why would he be screaming?

Forgotten but now remembered the rumbling from before intensified.

Nate was acutely aware how the two men who had been holding him were now a lot less concerned with keeping their captive and more about what this disembodied scream was all about.

Before the sound could actually reach them a roar sounded to their left.

Phil's men scattered as two towering legs crashed through the undergrowth. Nate was dropped to the ground as his captors fled.

Finally. A breakthrough he could work with.

Wincing as he got to his feet, Nate tried to see through the fog. A scream told him that the Spartoi wasn't too far away. Nate half stumbled, half ran, as far as he could the way they had been travelling. Any direction was a good direction as long as it led away from the Spartoi.

It seemed that Phil was thinking the same thing and was motoring down the path without looking back.

Nate didn't have a chance of keeping up with him and soon Phil was swallowed up by the mist.

As he got further away from the Spartoi, Nate noticed that the rumbling from before was getting louder. It sounded muffled in the fog. Nate slowed and leant against a tree, gasping for breath.

The short run had totally wiped him out, but he didn't have a choice. He would have to keep going.

He couldn't think of anything worse than the Spartoi catching up to him.

Nate could tell that the rumbling was getting louder and that the path he was following was leading to the source. There was nothing to be done. He would have to take his chances. Whatever was down the path was probably better than a Spartoi.

Probably.

Nate only took a few steps before another sound made itself apparent.

It was a high pitched whine. The kind produced by a motor.

Phil's Segway.

A few seconds later the man himself appeared, motoring down the path full speed; back the way he had come. From the distance that separated them, Nate could see the whites of his eyes. The man was terrified.

What had he seen?

Phil passed Nate without even noticing him, or maybe he did but just didn't acknowledge him. He did look pretty spaced out.

Nate felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. This wasn't going to be good.

He was just deciding to turn back and follow Phil when shadowy figures appeared through the fog.

Six of them.

They were heading towards Nate with intent, as was the rumbling. Both ground and trees were visually shaking.

Someone ploughed into him. Broken ribs protested and Nate saw black spots cloud his vision. Not good. He fell flat on his back with his attacker. When his vision cleared he frowned. Surely his mind was playing tricks on him?

'Elena?'

…

Elena didn't really know what was happening. One minute she was running full pelt. Next, she had tackled someone to the ground and was, now, rather embarrassingly lying on top of said someone. If she wasn't being chased by twenty Spartoi she would have never lived this down.

'Elena?'

The familiar voice pulled her back to the here and now.

'Nate?'

A thousand questions came to mind but when she saw his bruised face and bloodied shirt, she couldn't bring herself to say anything, which was probably a good thing since this wasn't the time for intense emotions.

Before the touching reunion could progress both Elena and Nate were hauled upright by Sully and Ted.

'This is nice, really, but we need to go,' Ted said breathlessly.

'Since we've found you I guess we can shake things up a bit,' Sully said and wheeled the group round so they were literally travelling at a right angle to their original path.

They ran as a unit. If one of fell behind the others helped. More often than not it was Nate, who hadn't let on to the others how hurt he was. It wasn't that he was trying not to worry the others; it was more that there hadn't been anytime.

The fog thinned a little, which hopefully meant that the Spartoi had gotten lost or better yet, were killing each other since there weren't any humans around.

Elena ran, legs pumping, heart racing. She could see light heading towards them through the thick branches. They were coming to a clearing.

She had noticed that Nate hadn't been keeping up. She was tuned into these things whether she wanted to be or not. He also was limping, his face etched with pain.

Elena was worried but as they made it into the clearing and weak sunlight, relief flooded her system.

The tell-tale whup-whup of helicopter blades was the most reassuring sound she had heard for a long time.

Tariq was waving at with an arm to hurry them along.

They were saved.

…

Phil was intensely aware of the quiet. The fog lingered but wasn't as strong as before.

He had escaped the Spartoi…for now.

Stopping the Segway, Phil waited. For what, he didn't know.

He needed to make a plan. Drake had lied to him. One of his blasted friends probably had the jawbone and teeth already.

They were probably laughing at him right now.

Phil's ears pricked, he could hear something.

It sounded like a helicopter.

Phil smiled and headed towards it.

…

Nate had almost collapsed when he reached the helicopter. Tariq had to pull him up bodily into the helicopter and into a seat.

Elena looked at him with concerned eyes. She sat opposite him as the others piled in.

His eyes were closed, his breathing laboured. She noticed his hand. Blood dripped onto the metal floor.

He was hurt but alive. Elena was grateful for this alone more than anything else.

Nate opened his eyes and nudged her foot with his.

'You alright?' he asked, noticing the expression on Elena's face.

'I'm fine but what about you? Is that a bullet hole?' Elena was trying hard to keep the hysteria out of her voice. He was asking if _she _was ok?

'Yeah, it is. But it's fine. Just a flesh wound,' Nate assured her hurriedly.

Elena folded her arms and looked at him. It was the kind of look that told Nate she wasn't ever going to believe him or let him off the hook.

Barry, who was sitting next to Nate, peered over.

'Eurgh, I can see right through it,' he said with a mix of disgust and awe.

Elena scowled.

The helicopter began to ascend in a controlled manner. Chloe sat on the edge seat and looked out over the trees. Wind buffeted the craft but Chloe could make out an almost solid block of grey smog coming towards them.

'Uh guys,' she said.

Ted and Sully looked over.

'What the crap?' Sully grumbled while Ted got the pilot's attention.

The helicopter sped up just as a figure broke into the clearing.

'Is that a Segway?' Tariq asked, completely flummoxed by the new arrival.

'Yeah and Phil's riding it,' Nate said tiredly.

Chloe frowned, 'What's that he's holding?'

'It looks like one of those things. Y'know, medieval times, you ride on a horse with a big pointy stick,' Sully said.

'I think you mean a jousting lance,' Barry said and looked over, 'Yep, definitely a jousting lance.'

'Can you stop being idiots? Is that such an unreasonable request?' Chloe muttered.

'Uh oh,' Miguel, who had so far been quiet, said.

'What is it now?' Chloe said, not expecting a sensible answer.

'Phil's Segway is heading for a rocky ramp,' Miguel said.

Everyone was silent.

'This thing doesn't have doors, does it?' Chloe asked Tariq.

'No, it doesn't. It's a troop transport,' the detective replied and then frowned, 'can someone tell me what is this 'rocky ramp' you speak of?'

'Well,' Barry, the film-director said, 'it's a device that when used correctly will send the user flying over or into their target, defying all rules of gravity and physics.'

'I see,' Tariq said and motioned for the pilot to speed up even more.

Phil sped up and flew through the air as the Segway left the handily placed arrangement of rocks.

He missed. But not by much.

The heroes quickly looked out the other side of the helicopter to see Phil land gracefully on the other side of the clearing.

'That was close,' Sully said, sitting back in his seat.

Nate wasn't so sure, 'Um, you never did tell me what was chasing you before, but I've got the horrible feeling its heading this way.'

Six heads swivelled towards the roiling mass of fog that was at the clearing. It was impossible to even see the ground any more.

Without warning a massive hand grabbed the lip of the helicopter's floor and gripped. Instantly the aircraft tilted to one side. Warning lights and sirens illuminated the control panel. The pilot wrestled with the controls.

A few seconds later the unearthly hand ripped away from the metal with a screech and disappeared into the fog. The pilot managed to right the helicopter and didn't even bother about orders. The helicopter rose recklessly but quickly until the whole island was visible.

'I'm pretty sure that just gave me a heart attack,' Sully muttered, clutching his chest.

'Yeah, we were being chased by twenty Spartoi,' Miguel said conversationally.

Nate looked at them all, 'Uh, so how did that come about?'

Chloe shot Miguel a look, 'Yes, Miguel, tell everyone. How did this come about?'

'Well, Chloe and I found the box of dragon teeth and then I fell over and they all got planted.'

'Why do I not find that surprising?' Sully muttered.

There was a moment where everyone decided to relate what had happened to each other.

The main conclusions were this. Both the jawbone and teeth were in the heroes' possession. There were also twenty Spartoi running rampant on the island. Phil was still around but his men captured or dead.

Tariq the policeman had something to say.

'I think I know how to deal with the Spartoi,' he said.

'A nuke?' Sully suggested.

'We just leave them here and get the hell off this island,' Barry added.

'No. If I throw the jawbone down to them, maybe they will fight over it and kill each other. From what Mr Drake has told me about these Spartoi, they are very simple minded.'

'He's not the only one,' Chloe said snidely at Miguel. She wasn't going to let him forget this one.

'I think this might work,' Nate said, 'it did for Cadmus and Jason in the past.'

Nate looked down over the island and focussed on the clearing they had just left. It wasn't even visible because of the fog. He wondered how Phil was going to survive down there.

Tariq ordered the pilot to lower the craft. The pilot hesitated until Tariq sighed and took the controls of him.

'When we are close enough to a Spartoi, throw the jawbone to one of them,' the detective said and pointed to a rucksack shoved under one of the seats.

Nate took it out, held it in his good hand and stared at it for a moment. This was root of all their problems. A stupid turd-like fossil.

It all started with Chloe digging the first one up in Uganda. From then on Nate had barely been able to keep up with the adventure himself. New allies, new villains, mythical creatures, countless gunfights, an improvised landing of a plane in the rainforest, an ice cream truck, a hovercraft, jeeps, helicopters, rocky ramps, caves and fried chicken.

It wasn't very believable and that wasn't even the end of it. This adventure had caught up with him over half a year. More planes, one that belonged to a singing teenager and another that belonged to an ambassador. Kebab had been thrown. His son had been born. His son had been kidnapped. His son had been saved.

Nate grunted. Too much had happened over the past few days.

Now here he was, shot in the hand and damned ready to finish this bloody thing off.

Tariq levelled the helicopter off in the middle of the fog. He didn't dare go any further. The Spartoi were surprisingly good at jumping.

The others looked to Nate. It was time.

Time to end this adventure once and for all.

A Spartoi reared its head, taking a moment from its fight with another of the beings. It stared at him with its pitiless red eyes.

Taking aim, Nate lifted the jawbone.

He threw it with all his might.

* * *

**This could either have been two short chapters or one fairly longish one…I just want this to be over so I made a long one…**

**For some reason in this chapter Elena seems to be really hormonal…it seems that I can't write any female character being angry without them sounding like this lol**

**Chloe also seems to be a bit catty…but Miguel deserved it lol**

**I don't know why but it seems to me that only an evil person would have a Segway…or if you're white and nerdy…if nobody gets the reference just ignore that last part lol**

**I introduced twenty Spartoi without thinking about how to get rid of them…before there was a handy cliff thing that led into water…great…**

**Come to think of it…Phil had a Spartoi with him too…it's what got him out of prison…great…I forgot about that one…**

**The ending is slowly taking shape…slowly…**

**Despite what I said in the previous chapter…this can't go on much longer…I see one more chapter…so this is the penultimate one…officially…I think…hmmm**

**Since this is the end…if you happen to see gaping plot holes…please tell me lol…I tend to forget what's happened so far…I'll try and wrap them up**

**I've also realised that the little synopsis mentions Sully chasing a woman and failing…that has not happened…oh well…let us all forget this**

**Thanks for reading, reviewing and all the other stuff you do**


	37. In Conclusion

**So this is it…the last chapter…although there will be an epilogue…this is a long author's note…sorry**

**In true me style, I have had a massive break in writing…I'm sorry…**

**There was a legitimate reason though this time…I had to do summer exams…although whether I used this time effectively or not I have no idea. It's always around exam time that I start to get funny ideas in my head like…let's learn programming or Chinese just because it means I won't have to revise but in some way is still constructive…slightly…and so revision was put on the back burner for a while…I also watched Avengers…I thought it was going to be a terrible film…but it was pretty good…it took a lot of strength not to do some referencing of the film in this chapter lol…**

**I also took ages because I wanted to get this right…I don't know if I have but it will have to do lol…**

**I finished Uncharted 3 ages ago…took me long enough…it was a nice ending to the story…it was pretty standard though…Marlowe deserved a lot worse and her motives weren't that clear but what does it really matter…Talbot was even less explained as a character lol but I don't mind …I'm happy for Nate and Elena...even if they are married and don't act like it lol…**

**Talking about marriage…my mum totally freaked me out by asking if there were any eligible young men on my course to marry…in those exact words…who uses 'eligible' anymore?…I ran away from her…but then she took me to an Ideal Home Exhibition…I don't like where her thoughts are going at all…**

**A warning…this chapter is very long compared to the others…silly long**

**Last time Miguel proved that he is just waste, Phil rolled up on his Segway, and Nate was finally going to end this thing…**

**Here we go…**

* * *

Chapter 36

It was like a strange chain reaction.

The jawbone was grabbed out of the air in a second and vanished in the mass of supernatural fog that had gathered.

The Spartoi were merciless. Breaking and ripping limbs without a second's notice; fighting over something that, as a material, was practically worthless.

Occasionally, Tariq had to manoeuvre the helicopter out of the path of flying objects. The occupants of the vehicle were apprehensive at best. If this didn't work they were going to in a lot of trouble.

An arm which was missing the rest of its owner sailed into the sky, peaked in its flight just at the eyelevel of the heroes and then began its short drop back to solid ground.

'Well that's just about the weirdest thing I've ever seen,' Barry said after a while.

'You ain't seen nothin' kid,' Sully commented as he peered down, taking advantage of the edge seat he was in. Every now again the fog would disperse in patches and what he saw would sell well on pay-to-view TV. Like a really strange, late-night, wrestling match, where it was ok to rip the arms off your opponent.

The smog cleared a little.

Nate grimaced, the plan seemed to be working but whether it would totally wipe out the Spartoi was another thing completely. He was also hoping that Phil would be dead by now. Trampled by the raging Spartoi.

Nate spied a single Spartoi bent over. It was picking something up. The jawbone. It had somehow survived the massacre that had been going on. It had been lying, forgotten and alone.

The Spartoi looked at its prize, raised it about its head, and bellowed. This probably wasn't the cleverest thing it had ever done in its short existence.

Two other Spartoi locked eyes on the jawbone and ran, full pelt towards the owner. The combined tackles of the two beings, simultaneously crashing into the third's midsection made a sickening crunch.

The humans in the helicopter shuddered.

The jawbone tumbled down, the hand that had once held it crumbled away. It seemed that a Spartoi's death wasn't all that exciting. It was almost as if the God of Spartoi Deaths hadn't spent much time or effort coming up with new and exciting concepts about how such a thing could happen and instead used the time old tradition of just fading away into a fine dust while being spread by a handy breeze.

'That was just plain disappointing,' Miguel grumbled. He had been expecting, in the very least, an explosion or two.

Chloe shook her head after Miguel voiced his opinions. She was quite happy with the way things were going. You knew where you were with dust. It didn't threaten to scorch you with third degree burns and at the very worst irritated the eyes a little.

The jawbone disappeared from view again as a mass of Spartoi congregated in that very area.

Tariq dropped the helicopter a little lower so they could get a better view. The steady beat of the rotors dispelled the worst of the mist left. This was also made possible partly by the fact that there were only a few Spartoi left.

The clearing was a wreck. It looked as if a small meteor had landed there. The earth was churned and a fringe of trees had been shredded to pieces. In some cases chunks of forest were missing where vegetation had been lifted out of the ground completely to be hurled at other Spartoi.

'I wish I had a video camera,' Barry muttered, craning his neck so he could see what was happening.

'I wish I had some popcorn,' Miguel piped up.

'I wish they would just kill each other already,' Chloe said flatly and was rewarded with a cloud of dust in her eyes as another Spartoi-

'Don't you dare say 'bit the dust',' Chloe warned Barry as she scratched at her eyes and blinked rapidly. Barry slowly closed his mouth and pouted, saddened that the world couldn't share in the excellent pun he had come up with.

Ted winced as one of the two remaining Spartoi landed a blow on it's opponent's face. The head strained to stay rooted to the body. The other Spartoi retaliated by snapping an arm around. Its wrist and hand were a blur as they effectively slapped the other Spartoi in the face.

There was a moment's silence in the helicopter.

'Did he just slap the other Spartoi?' Sully asked disbelievingly. People would _definitely_ pay to see this. He shared in Barry's wish for a video camera.

The other Spartoi was having none of this nonsense and picked up the nearest object handy and brought it crashing down over its opponent's head. The attack would have been more effective if the Spartoi had picked up something weightier than some aged fossil. The dragon jawbone hardly fazed the Spartoi as it shattered across its forehead and it slammed a knee between the other's legs for good measure.

'This one is playing really dirty,' Sully muttered and subconsciously crossed his legs.

'More importantly,' Chloe spoke up, 'I think it just broke the jawbone. That's a good thing, right?'

Nate confirmed this by rummaging around in the rucksack and bringing out the second box of teeth. He removed the lid and took one out. The tooth was flawless crystal, reflecting the little light available and winking as Nate turned it.

'I suppose that's one load of our minds,' Elena said and if this hadn't been a serious situation Nate would have told her that she sounded like a washing powder advert. More importantly though he was extremely glad that after this, he would never have to see another Spartoi again. He had seen way too many of them.

Elena looked grim, she too was more than relieved to know that no one would be growing their own Spartoi in the future but what worried her now was what would happen to the Spartoi who were left. She turned her attention back to the fight, hoping that they would soon dispatch each other.

The Spartoi brawled a little longer till the slapping Spartoi gained an upper hand and ended the fight by thrusting its hand inside the other's chest and ripping out what could be called a Spartoi heart. It's inhuman roar filled the clearing. Birds took flight. Tortoises withdrew their heads back into their shells.

The occupants of the helicopter were silent.

'Oh dear,' Chloe said finally after the Spartoi had disintegrated into a fine mist.

Nate gulped, this was what they were hoping wouldn't happen.

A victor. A survivor.

Now they had to deal with a Spartoi. Nate sighed, at least one Spartoi was better than twenty.

He was just about to say something when Barry pointed to the far edge of the clearing, past the roaring champion Spartoi. Something was moving.

On wheels.

'I think that's a Segway,' he said worriedly. Nate's hopes of Phil being dead were dashed. Even the Segway had survived.

Miguel made the connections quicker than anyone else.

'He's heading for the rocky ramp,' he said calmly.

Nate gauged the distance between them and Phil's speeding Segway. He could make out the portly man now, hunched over in determination, knowing that if he didn't make it this time he would probably die. Nate had also noticed that Tariq had lowered the helicopter enough for a plot device like a rocky ramp to actually work.

'Will he make it?' Sully asked. He wasn't exactly sure what Phil wanted to achieve here. It would be impossible to land the Segway into the helicopter cabin. That was just crazy. The only way Sully could think of this working out for Phil was if he achieved the right height and quickly jumped across to the helicopter and the chances of a one-legged man doing this were extremely thin.

'He had better bloody not,' Chloe grunted and taking a pistol from under her seat, fired a few rounds at Phil. She had no illusions as to what Phil wanted to do. He was on a suicide mission in which he would fly into the chopper rotors and bring them all down to a fiery inferno of a death. And if they somehow survived this then the remaining Spartoi would quickly remedy the situation.

The Spartoi caught sight of Phil and lumbered after him.

Tariq grappled with the controls of the helicopter in an effort to initiate a hurried ascent.

'Holy crap,' Sully said as the wheels of Segway hit the ramp, 'I think he's gonna do it!'

Elena saw it before any of the others did and grabbed Nate's arm to get his attention. The Spartoi had been fast. Unnaturally so. It leapt into the air; an arm outstretched. A giant hand closed around the villain and his Segway.

Just before the Spartoi could subject Phil to its crushing death grip, the man in question jumped down from the motor powered movement machine in the hope that the drop would be a quicker death than what the Spartoi was offering.

The Spartoi landed and opened its hand. It stared at the twisted, crumpled and slightly smoking metal sitting on his palm. There was no human.

The Spartoi growled and threw the scraps at the suspicious hovering contraption above him.

'Oh shit,' Ted muttered as the heroes simultaneously calculated the flight path of the Segway remains.

'Indeed,' Miguel said solemnly.

Tariq jerked the helicopter's joystick to no avail. It was too little too late.

The sound of the Segway screeching against the helicopter rotors was burned into Chloe's memory for life. Although she suspected she didn't have much of it left now in which to remember it.

There was a shower of sparks. A rotor blade snapped and span off into the forest, shearing any greenery it came into contact with. Smoke filled the cabin.

Tariq fought to keep control but it was a wasted effort.

The helicopter dipped to the left, swung perilously, started to spin. The lights dimmed only to be replaced by a flashing red one. An alarm went off. The type that told you everything was going wrong so you had better start saying your payers.

'We have to jump!' Nate shouted to the others, he had already undone his harness and had to hold onto the cabin wall to stop himself from falling out the open cabin as the helicopter rolled.

Sully gaped, 'What?'

'You heard me,' Nate replied, 'we gotta jump.'

'This is madness,' the older man grumbled but did what Nate had told him and unbuckled the only safety device on the helicopter.

This suited Miguel just fine and with a cheery salute, leapt out of the craft.

Sully watched him go. It was a long way down but survivable.

Maybe.

Barry spied a couple of trees that he wouldn't have minded landing in. He closed his eyes, held his nose and dropped out of the burning vehicle.

'He knows this isn't the sea, right?' Chloe asked, hardly noticing that Ted had undone her harness and was practically dragging her to the edge of the cabin.

'Yeah, he'll be fine, probably worried about bugs going up his nose or something,' Ted said but he was only really concerned with Chloe getting out safely. He stared out at the dizzying image before him. The helicopter was determined to hit the ground and there wasn't much time before it would do just that.

The problem was the spinning. It basically meant that you were flung out in any old direction. Ted didn't like this. He liked knowing where he was going to land.

Chloe tugged at his hand and he looked at her, a little surprised. Chloe read his mind and glared at him.

'I'm doing this with the mind-set that we're going to die. I think I'll allow some hand holding,' she shouted at him. She looked at the ground, swallowed and then turned back to Ted who squeezed her hand.

They jumped. Chloe screaming her lungs out and Ted with a smile.

Nate told Elena to jump.

'Aren't we doing this together?' she yelled over the sound of imminent death.

'You go. I'm going to help Tariq and the pilot so they can make it out too,' Nate replied.

Elena wanted to argue. Nate could see this and wasn't having any of it. They were half a minute or so away from dying in an explosion. Nate just wanted Elena to be safe, or what he hoped was safe. There wasn't really a safe way when all your options comprised of jumping out of a burning helicopter.

Before she could say anything, Nate pushed her. Elena looked stunned for a moment and then she was gone. Falling from the helicopter and all Nate could do was watch.

He shook his head and squeezed himself into the cockpit. Tariq gave him an incredulous stare.

'What are you doing here?' he shouted angrily, 'Why haven't you jumped yet?'

Nate grabbed the controls so Tariq could unstrap his harness too. 'I stayed to make sure you got out too.'

Tariq roughly pushed Nate to the cabin. He was grateful but it was his_ job_ to make sure people were safe. The man had just become a father and had a woman who loved him. Tariq would be damned if this man was going to die just because he tried to save him. It was his fault he had held the helicopter so low.

It seemed that the powers that be didn't want any of the remaining occupants to leave the helicopter because at that moment in time the helicopter crashed into the Spartoi.

If Miguel was conscious and able to see, he would have been satisfied with the explosion that followed.

…

Chloe opened her eyes with a wince.

The view held a startlingly blue sky and a rich green forest.

As far as she could tell she was just in the forestry that surrounded the clearing. She had somehow ended up in a tree; draped across some branches like clothes on an airer. It was certainly a better way to land than Ted, who was lying on the ground meters beneath her.

Chloe's eyes followed a trail of broken foliage from where she was now sitting to where Ted was lying. It looked as if he had landed in the same place but had the unfortunate luck of breaking everything he came into contact with and plummeting to the floor.

A quick examination told Chloe that she hadn't broken any bones and was once again ridiculously lucky. She wondered why it never seemed to rub off on Ted who was lying very still.

It was the sort of stillness that made you think the worse.

Chloe swore quietly and negotiated her way down the tree as quickly as possible. She jumped the last few feet, dropped to Ted's side and turned him on his back.

His eyes were closed. There wasn't any blood and his limbs weren't bent at impossible angles. He also didn't look to be breathing which Chloe supposed was the bigger issue.

She said his name, slapped his face.

It didn't do a thing.

A mild panic stole over Chloe at that point. What if he never woke up? A sick feeling started to rise inside of her. Fear mushed in with a bit of alarm exaggerated her grim thoughts and suppressed rational thought.

Dead.

He could not be dead.

Chloe shook Ted by the shoulders. Nothing happened. His arm flopped to the side. It was not the sort of movement she was hoping for.

'Wake up,' she muttered, trying to tamp down the dread slowly filling her up.

She sat back and stared at the man lying in front of her with wet eyes.

Any moment now.

Any moment now Ted's eyes would fly open, he'd sit up look at her and then worry about how she was and then say something along the lines of 'why don't you ever give me any sympathy?' and then she would say something sarcastic back to him and then he'd mope and then later she'd make it up to him because this time he had really scared her…

Any moment now.

…

Miguel was aware that there was something heavy on top of him. It was approximate size and weight of a British person.

With a push and shove he heaved the thing off him and sat up painfully. It looked like he had landed safely and then a man had dropped on him.

Miguel and Barry were at the edge of the clearing. In the middle was a smoking pile of metal that made up the remains of the helicopter. Here and there small fires burned merrily. Bits of scrap metal were dotted around the place.

Miguel noticed that there seemed to be a distinct lack of Spartoi. That was always a reassuring sign.

Barry came to and lifted himself gingerly off the ground.

'Bloody hell,' he grumbled and rubbed the back of his head, 'What's going on here then?' he added when he noticed Miguel was with him.

'I believe that the last Spartoi has been destroyed by the helicopter crashing into it. We are currently split up from our friends. I don't know where they are. It is also possible that Phil has survived although I haven't seen him yet.'

Barry was silent for a moment. He hadn't spent much time with the Ugandan but he had been told that he was a certifiable loony. This didn't seem to be the case at all. He seemed to be totally focussed and sane.

'That's a pretty good summary, cheers. The others told me you were crazy; I was kind of expecting a wild story about us being on another planet or something,' Barry said.

'Oh,' Miguel said with a downcast look, 'I was just about to get to that part.'

To avoid the awkward silence that was inevitable, Barry made a suggestion.

'Why don't we go look for the others?'

Miguel looked around, 'I hope they landed on the same planet as us.'

Barry was silent for a moment and then walked off.

Miguel followed with a grin.

A few moments later Barry thought he saw a flash of red through the greenery. Hadn't Chloe been wearing one of those red t-shirts?

He motioned to Miguel and the two crashed through the thin barrier of trees.

Barry and Miguel made a quick assessment of the situation.

Miguel saw a nearly crying Chloe and a very still Ted and burst into tears on the spot. Barry saw the same thing but thought he should try and help in some way.

He hurried over to Chloe and dropped to the ground.

'Is he…?' Barry motioned to Ted's prone form.

Chloe watched him with an emotionless gaze and Barry turned to Ted. He reached out and pulled down the man's collar. Pressed his fingers against Ted's neck. Found a pulse. Weak.

Barry looked at Chloe.

'Y'know he's got a pulse, right?'

Chloe stared at him, 'What?' she managed to say thickly.

'Ted's not dead. I can feel his pulse,' Barry said.

There was a moment of calm where Chloe kicked herself for thinking the worse and Barry congratulated himself on his medical knowledge.

'Um, are you ok?' he asked Chloe. Her face had darkened. She looked a little angry. Barry hoped it wasn't directed at him.

'I'm fine,' she said replied flatly and looked at Miguel who was still crying, 'It's ok. He's not dead.'

Miguel stopped instantly and resumed normal functioning, 'Oh, that's good then.'

Chloe shook her head and looked at Ted's face. Crap. This man had altered her common sense. That could never be a good thing. Her head still hurt from her encounter with the fast flowing river. It was still bleeding. Ted hadn't fared much better. He'd been in a car crash and was probably concussed to pieces. Now he was unconscious on a forest floor. Chloe was realised that this was a getting to be a bit too much for her.

Before her thoughts could gather any more momentum, Ted moved. He wasn't awake but he was getting there.

Chloe stood on shaky legs.

'I'm going to look for the others,' she said, she had to get away from Ted.

'I'll come with you,' Miguel said seriously. Barry looked at the Ted.

'I guess, I'll stay with him,' he said. Chloe gave him a grateful nod and hurried off.

Miguel followed closely.

…

Elena blinked groggily.

She was looking at the sky. It was bright blue and cloudless although there were streaks of smoke billowing in from somewhere.

As Elena tried to piece together what happened, she sat up. Her body protested.

Ah yes, Nate had pushed her. They would be having words about that later. He had a son now, his priorities revolved around staying alive to be a father. Selfish as it was. But then Elena saw him lying on the grass.

Nate.

Not moving.

Something took over. Elena picked herself up off the muddy ground and stumbled towards the man she loved. Her head swam but she kept going.

Someone was going to get there faster though.

They ran with a strange gait. As if one of their legs was really stiff or made of plastic.

It was Phil. He had attached the fake leg from the Segway to his own. He was also using the crutch. The crutch with a knife in it.

Elena did not like where this was going. A pistol lay under a piece of blackened metal. She picked it up, checked the rounds automatically and staggered onwards.

Phil loomed over Nate with a grin.

Elena saw Nate stir. Phil hefted the crutch. Held it like a spear.

The blade was shiny.

…

Nate's vision was blurred but as it came into focus, he rather wished it hadn't because it was filled with Phil.

Muddy, bloody, fat, Phil.

Nate really wondered what sort of cockroach species Phil belonged to. The man didn't seem to understand the concept of death when it was applied to him.

Something moved, glinting in the sunlight.

Nate inwardly groaned. A knife. His body was not in any condition to fight back. It had just survived an exploding helicopter crash and was now utterly useless to face this new threat.

His ribs were on fire. His hand refused to move.

It was all he could do to watch the blade coming towards him.

…

Elena barrelled into Phil just as his arm began to speed forward; knife at the ready.

There was a satisfying thud as she made contact. Phil staggered off to the side but managed not to fall over.

Elena had recovered first though and slammed the butt of her gun across his face in a fluid motion. Blood sprayed from his mouth.

This time Phil did go down but as he did he swept wide with the crutch and knocked Elena's legs from under her. She hit the grass heavily.

Phil sat up and worked his jaw from side to side. Spat out a tooth. He didn't have chance to do anything before Elena was on him. She yanked him up by his collar and punched him.

Pain shot through her knuckles but she couldn't help herself. It felt so damn good. It shouldn't have but it did. She wasn't one for mindless violence but there was something about this man that brought out the very worst in her.

She punched him again, more out of frustration than anything else. She felt helpless. One part of her wanted to continue and the other wanted her to stop before it was too late. Before she did something that she would regret.

She couldn't _kill _a disabled unarmed fat man…could she?

All the people Phil had hurt. He had gotten away with it all. Chloe, Ted, Sully…Nate…her son…her little baby boy with no name and hands so small they couldn't even hold one of her own fingers

A mere beating didn't seem like enough.

Blood dripped from Phil's mouth, one of his eyes was swollen shut but he still had the audacity to smile at her. His watery blue eye held her gaze, amused. Taunting.

As if he knew…knew she couldn't do it.

It was a smug grin on a smug face.

She grunted and threw him to the floor. Stood up and pointed the gun at his face. Her hand shook a little but her face was determined.

Phil's smile dimmed a fraction.

He opened his mouth to speak but Elena cut him off.

'Don't you say a word. Don't you dare say a _fucking_ word,' Elena warned and gestured with the gun. Was that her speaking? Where had that rage come from? This couldn't be her. She always kept her cool. Who was this person?

Phil spat at her. Daring her to do her worst.

Before she could do something rash, Sully was there. Talking her down and taking the gun away from her.

'Elena, he's not worth it,' Sully said. He had come to only a few moments before but had landed in an area where it was easy to see what was going on in the clearing. As soon as he saw Elena point the gun at Phil he knew it was time to intervene.

When he had disarmed Elena, Sully turned to look at Nate. He looked to be unconscious. To take her mind off the villain in front of her, Sully pointed this out.

'Check on Nate. I'll take care of this guy.'

Elena looked at the older man. His face had taken on a waxy pallor after the many ordeals they had been through. Spartoi chases, rocky ramps, burning helicopters. Hair dishevelled and more white than grey, Elena had never been more grateful for a friend like him. She looked past him for a moment to where Phil was lying and shook her head. Sully was probably the only reason she hadn't shot the guy already.

Elena let her mind reorganise itself. Phil wasn't the issue here. It was Nate. She needed to be with Nate. He was hurt, badly.

'Thanks,' she said to Sully. She hoped that Sully felt the meaning that went behind it. There was a lot of it.

'I'm just doing my job,' Sully said with a shrug. He had no intention of letting her know how worried he was.

Elena nodded and went to Nate.

Sully turned back to Phil and trained the gun on him. Anger coursed his system. This man had been moments away from killing the one good thing he had done in his crappy life. Nate was like a son to him and Sully knew in his heart that he had done good by him, despite teaching him the ways of criminality. Nate had achieved things in his life. Things he may not have had the chance to do. He had a family. A son and a woman to love. Sully thought it was strange that Phil had managed to endanger everything. The only things he cared about in life and this miserable excuse for a man had threatened them all.

Sully was prepared to put a bullet in this man's head there and then.

'Now, don't you move a muscle,' he said to Phil quietly, 'and I promise this will be over quickly.'

…

Tariq rolled onto his back.

His head hurt. His ears rang.

He wondered if he could apply for worker's compensation. He had probably done more work in this day than his fifteen years on the police force. He also felt the fifteen years on the police force. Too much sitting at a desk and not enough running about chasing rotund villains on supernatural missions. Maybe he should think about retiring.

Tariq picked himself up off the muddy ground and watched the smouldering wreck of the helicopter, wondering how he would explain this to his commander.

His beret fluttered on a snapped rotor blade. Tariq picked it up and jammed it on his head. A hand poked out of a pile of charred metal. It seemed that the pilot hadn't made it. Tariq swore. Too many people had died today. This was going probably going to be the hardest thing to explain.

Somehow a radio had survived the explosion and was squawking at his feet. Tariq took it and then yelled in Turkish for a while. It made him feel better. Damn foreigners bringing all their foreign villains and their foreign monsters…

There was silence on the other side of the radio, while his men probably drew straws on who was going to speak next. Eventually somebody spoke.

Tariq listened to the news with a sinking heart. He closed his eyes and said a prayer for all the good it would do. He replied slowly, the reply came after a while.

Tariq grunted, satisfied, and set off to search for survivors.

…

Nate floated back to consciousness with a coppery taste in his mouth. Blood.

With a pained grunt he managed to open his eyes. He hoped this time the view that greeted him was something better than Phil. He didn't think he could take that again.

Surprisingly, Nate was in luck and his vision cleared to reveal a very worried Elena sitting beside him.

As soon as she realised he was awake, she threw her arms around him in a blur of warmth and tears.

Nate would have enjoyed this more had he not possessed a chest of broken ribs.

'Uh, Elena, my ribs are broken,' Nate said through the haze of pain that had descended upon him as he woke up fully.

Elena went very still and then suddenly let go of him.

'I'm sorry. I didn't know,' she said quickly, and then struck him across the face.

Nate wondered what he had done wrong now. Shouldn't she be happy he was alive and all that?

'That's for pushing me out of a burning helicopter,' she said angrily.

Oh, Nate thought, when she put it like that it did sound a little dodgy but he had a good reason.

'It was the only way,' he explained, 'I just wanted you to be safe.'

Elena wanted to give him a sarcastic come back but stopped herself.

'That may be so,' she said, 'but you need to stop being the hero all the time. The others can take care of themselves too. We have a son. You need to concentrate on surviving. I know it's selfish but it's the truth.'

Nate was quiet for a moment. He saw the sense in this. He really did but he couldn't just let his friends die.

'I'm sorry,' he mumbled because he didn't know how else to reply. Elena was worried about him, how could she not be? Nate grunted. This was too complicated to be thinking about now.

Elena sighed heavily and sat back. She looked down at her hands, deep in thought.

'It doesn't matter,' she said, 'I want to be angry with you but I can't do it. You're alive and that's all that matters.'

Nate sat up and took one of Elena's hands in his good one.

'I just want to go home,' she said finally.

Nate went still.

Elena had looked so small and tired when she said that. Vulnerable and defeated. It dawned on Nate that this whole adventure would dwell on her mind for a long time. It had affected her in ways he couldn't even comprehend. It was traumatising. She'd had a complicated labour, her new-born sick son had been kidnapped, the man she loved was nowhere to be seen and when she did finally reunite with him, he had gone off to save the world and left her behind and then to top things off the man had pushed her out of a helicopter to save other people and then been the subject of an epic explosion.

The fact that he had survived didn't mean much when he lived a life where the next life or death situation was just around the corner. The odds wouldn't always be on his side.

Nate realised when he pushed her out of the helicopter that it looked like his priorities weren't in the right place. Nate grunted at Elena's lost look. He had done that.

Reduced her to tears.

It didn't take more than a tug to pull Elena towards him. Who cared if his ribs were broken? He held her close and tight, savouring the moment.

'I'm sorry,' he said and meant it. If he could, he would have picked her up then and there and carried her all the way home. Nothing would have been able to stop him.

Not a Spartoi. Not twenty.

Not even Phil.

…

Chloe and Barry reached Sully.

He looked at them both.

'I won't be a minute,' he said and Chloe raised an eyebrow. Cold blooded murder? Hmmm, maybe she had arrived at the right time. No doubt Phil deserved the worst but somehow Chloe didn't think shooting a defenceless man was really the way forward. Especially, she thought as she saw Tariq approaching, when the police were watching.

'Uh, Sully, the police guy is here,' she said. Sully turned and swore.

'Just let me shoot the guy,' he said to Tariq.

Tariq looked at Phil and then back to Sully.

'Ok, but you'll have to wait until I've shot him first,' the policeman said, taking a pistol from his ankle holster and pointing it at Phil.

'Aren't you meant to stop this sort of stuff?' Chloe asked Tariq. The man sighed.

'It's self-defence,' he replied flatly.

'Chloe, don't try to save the guy. He's scum,' Sully said, annoyed. Chloe looked at the pathetic heap on the floor and thought about all the bad things he had done.

She picked up the lethal crutch weapon, 'Well, I suppose he did shoot me in the leg.'

Miguel stood there, he was getting the feeling that he too should want to kill Phil for some reason. It didn't take long to pick one, there was a whole list.

He needed a weapon though. Dropping to a knee he tugged at Phil's leg.

'Yes, this man, he is very bad. He put you guys through so much. I will kill him with his own fake leg,' Miguel said.

Chloe gave him a deadpan look, 'You're trying to take off his real leg.'

Miguel looked at what he was doing and quickly remedied his mistake. The leg came loose and he brandished it in a threatening way. This was fairly hard to do with a fake leg and Chloe had to give him points since he did a fairly good job of it.

From out of nowhere and possibly a little unnecessarily at this point, Ted joined the fray. He was holding a broken rotor blade like a sword. Chloe and the others looked at him. He was good guy Ted. He didn't kill defenceless people.

'What?' he said, noticing the looks he was getting, 'he shot Chloe in the leg. I'm allowed.'

Sully grunted, but didn't say anything to stop him.

Barry caught up with them and gave an apologetic smile to Chloe.

'Sorry,' he said, 'he just ran off as soon as I told him where you had gone.'

He noticed that everyone had some sort of weapon and were pointing them at Phil.

'Oh,' he said jovially, 'are we killing Phil now? Anyone got a spare weapon?'

Miguel looked around, 'I think there's a rock over there.'

Barry went to fetch it. Chloe wondered if this was really happening. It was surreal, to say the least. Were they really going to kill this man? Weren't there a few too many of them? The word 'overkill' came to mind. And this wasn't even the final number.

Nate and Elena approached them.

Chloe rolled her eyes. Not more people. This was getting silly.

Nate eyed them, 'Don't you think there are too many of you? It only takes a bullet.'

'Well, I'm not that bothered who does it but some of these guys really want him dead,' Chloe said, throwing down the crutch.

Barry dropped the rock, 'Thank god, I don't think I could've done it.'

Miguel looked at the leg he was holding and then set it on the floor carefully.

Ted, Sully and Tariq failed to lower their weapons.

They all wanted to kill Phil rather badly.

'So, how's this going to work?' Ted said slowly, 'Rock, paper, scissors?'

Chloe tried to appeal to Nate's morals.

'Please, stop this. They'll listen to you,' she said, 'they're being stupid.'

Nate considered this and walked to where the three men were standing, weapons at the ready.

'This man has tried to kill all of us multiple times. He shot you in the leg. He kidnapped my son,' Nate said.

Sully watched Nate, 'I'm doing this for you, kid.'

'This man is a criminal,' Tariq said without emotion, 'he has killed countless people and my men with the plans to hurt even more.'

Ted was silent, not because he didn't have anything to say, it was just that he couldn't articulate them very well. Phil was bad. That's all there was to it. Having worked for the man Ted was pretty sure he knew what he was doing. This man would never stop being evil till someone stopped him. Permanently. And he had hurt Chloe too.

Phil watched the heroes with interest.

If they had any sense at all they would have shot him in the head a while ago. Phil was planning. True, the plan he had formulated was based mainly on sheer dumb luck but it was a plan nonetheless. The main component was to stay alive. This wasn't very hard since the people who were going to kill him were having troubles working out how they were going to go about this.

Phil now had something he could work with.

Time.

With stealthy fingers, he reached for the prosthetic leg.

The burning wreck of the helicopter shifted, sending a shower of sparks skywards. Nate eyed it nervously, distracted for a moment.

He wanted Phil dead. Just thinking about the man made him angry. Not just angry but violent.

Beside him Chloe and the others argued about what to do with the man who had brought them all here. If anyone should end this it should be him. That was much clear. Nate just wasn't sure how.

He closed his eyes for a moment and felt the warmth of the flames on his face. A puddle of dread had settled in his stomach. Nate knew he could kill people. He had done it before. Many times. The conditions under which he killed people though had always been the same though. Self-defence. Not once had he killed for the fun of it. To watch a man's life drain away, that wasn't enjoyable, it wasn't a privilege. It was a last resort.

No, he couldn't just kill Phil. The man deserved the worst but it wouldn't be what he eventually got. Nate reasoned that killing Phil in cold blood made him no different from the bad guys. He had to cling on to that small patch of moral high ground he still possessed.

When Nate finally opened his eyes again he realised that the others had stopped talking. They were all looking at him, waiting for his input.

Nate looked at Phil who had managed to crawl a fair distance. Without saying anything, Nate walked up to him slowly, his body wouldn't allow anything faster but that suited him just fine. He wanted Phil to see him coming. Wanted him to think of all the painful ways he could meet his end.

Phil stopped crawling when Nate finally caught up with him. They were just out of earshot from the others who had hung back. The villain held Nate's gaze.

'You can't kill a defenceless man,' Phil murmured. Nate's jaw clenched.

'No. I can't,' he replied and Phil smiled.

'Don't smile. Just because I won't kill you like this doesn't mean it isn't going to happen at all,' Nate said quietly.

Phil's smile widened and he looked past the injured man to the group of people standing by the helicopter.

'So you're going to let _them_ deal with me?' Phil asked, his voice mocking, 'They're worse than you are. A bunch of spineless idiots.'

Nate turned to look at his friends and then back to Phil again, his face emotionless, 'I didn't say that.'

Phil's smile dimmed a little. Nate's demeanour was rather unnerving. He was way too calm. It was then that Phil realised he only had a short amount of time in which to act. He clenched his fists and propped himself up on them.

'Do your worst, Drake. Do your worst.'

Nate's felt his hands twitch. They wanted to kill. They wanted to wrap around the man's flabby neck and choke the very life out of him. It took every fibre of Nate's being to stop himself from doing it. It would have been so easy. His mouth was dry, his ribs creaked with every breath, his hand dripped crimson. He was so tired.

Nate realised he was swaying. He had been very close to blacking out then and there. Phil monopolised on this zoning out and swung out a fist.

While everyone else had been busy arguing, as he had crawled away, Phil had felt a prickle on his fingers. Small pieces of sharpened crystal were scattered across the muddied grass. He had collected quite a few, biding his time and now he threw them at Nate. His aim was true and the tiny missiles peppered the hero's face, catching him by surprise.

Nate turned away with a yell and brought his hands to swipe away the teeth. The crystal drew blood as they scraped against skin. Staggering a few steps, Nate blinked rapidly, his face stung but he could just make out Phil who was limping away with surprising agility. He heard shouting behind him and knew that his friends had seen what had happened.

Nate watched the overweight man run. He still thought he could get away. After he had lost everything. There was no way for him to win this yet he still ran.

Something snapped. Nate let the rage fill him up. Let it take over. He ran.

Phil had just reached the forest line when Nate tackled him to the ground.

They both went down in cloud of dirt. Phil recovered first on the account on being slightly less injured. He brought his one real knee into Nate's gut and took satisfaction in watching the other man grunt and collapse onto the ground. Knowing full well where Nate had been injured, Phil body slammed the man on the ground, letting his full weight knock the breath out of his body. Nate screamed.

Phil didn't waste any time and got up quickly and stumbled into the forest. Nate rolled onto his side and panted heavily. Hazy spots encroached on his vision. Nausea bubbled away. This morning's breakfast threatened to make a comeback. But riding out above it all was the rage. Still there, still strong.

Nate cradled his injured hand and managed to get to his feet. He needed to hurry before Phil got lost in the endless greenery.

Without looking back he followed the villain.

…

Elena watched Nate disappear into the forest. She sped up but Tariq held her back.

'You can't go in there. It's too dangerous.'

Elena struggled in his grip, 'I need to help Nate! He's injured. We have to stop Phil.'

'What the hell are you doing?' Sully asked the policeman, this wasn't the time to be discussing this. Nate needed their help. Ted and the others slowed and stared at Tariq.

'There's something I haven't told you,' Tariq said.

'Well, it had better be good,' Sully said angrily. They were losing valuable time.

'Phil brought a Spartoi with him. While we were in the helicopter my men found an empty electrified cage…' Tariq let the sentence hang.

Chloe turned to the forest in front of them, 'So, you're saying that there could be a Spartoi running around the island?'

'Yes.'

'We just can't catch a break, can we?' Barry muttered, 'Do you have any idea where the thing went?'

'My men are trying to track its movements. Their preliminary findings pointed to it moving towards us. From that direction,' Tariq said and pointed calmly to where Nate and Phil had just run.

'For crap's sake,' Ted muttered.

…

Nate knew he had lost Phil. He kept running anyway.

The thought of letting that man get away fuelling him on. Something moved up ahead and Nate quickened his pace.

He thought he saw Phil moving between the foliage.

The light faded. Nate slowed. His mind reeled with this new information. There were only a few things that could cause this.

No. It couldn't be.

There were dead. All the Spartoi were dead. He had seen them kill each other.

What the hell was wrong with him? No one had this kind of luck.

There was a short scream somewhere to Nate's left. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

The shadows deepened. It was quiet.

Nate knew he could turn back. He could run away.

But he didn't.

…

Phil staggered over the uneven terrain. His breaths were short and laboured. A pain in his chest told him he was a few beats away from a full on heart-attack.

He had to keep moving. He needed to get back to the shore. Find a boat. Find anything to get him off this island.

So single-minded was he in his goal that once again Phil took no notice of fog that had gathered.

He really needed to pay attention to his surroundings.

The ground trembled. Phil lost his footing and hit the ground hard.

Phil could have sworn he felt the shadow fall over him.

He turned around slowly to find a pair of bottomless red eyes staring at him.

It would be one of the last things that the overweight villain called Phil would ever see.

…

Nate crashed through the undergrowth.

The last Spartoi on earth turned to Nate and bellowed. It was holding something in its hand. Without warning it flung it at the hero. Nate dived to the side and baulked at the thudding sound that Phil's lifeless body made as it hit the ground.

The watery blue eyes were glassy, unseeing. The head lolled on its snapped neck.

Nate should have been happy but he just felt sick. Physically and mentally. He also didn't have much time to dwell on these things. The Spartoi had been cooped up for too long. It was enjoying itself.

It lumbered towards Nate.

Nate could just about bring himself to sit up. The rage had dissipated. His energy source was gone. Pain and exhaustion held claim to his body. He was going to die here with Phil on this stupid island with its stupid Spartoi and its stupid jawbones and stupid teeth.

It was all so…pointless.

Nate could think of nothing more than wanting to see Elena and his son. Nothing else mattered. He watched numbly as the Spartoi reached out.

Something crashed through the canopy of trees.

It fell directly onto the Spartoi.

The hand that had been reaching out for Nate was now behind thick bars of metal. Sparks crackled along the metal as the Spartoi came into contact with it.

A cage.

Someone had dropped a cage onto the Spartoi.

Nate peered upwards to see a helicopter hovering way above the trees.

He was saved.

Normally, Nate would have shouted or whooped for good measure but the day's events had finally caught up with him and instead he fell into a well-deserved slumber.

…

It was the ending that everyone had hoped for. The good guys were safe. The bad guys were dead. True, people had got more beat up than usual but all in all not a bad job.

The helicopter touched down at a Turkish port.

Tariq had ordered that the caged Spartoi be dropped into the sea. The world would not be bothered by such creatures again. This was a small comfort to the policeman who knew he would see them in his nightmares.

Nate, still unconscious, was wheeled into a waiting ambulance. Elena went with him.

Sully watched the vehicle leave. Words couldn't describe how relieved he was. Nate was ok. Sure, there were a few broken bones but nothing that couldn't be fixed. He would have liked to go with them but he supposed he should give them some privacy. He was sure they had things to talk about. They were a family now.

It felt weird. In all honesty he felt a bit useless.

He didn't have much time to think about this further as a rather persistent paramedic had arrived and was trying to treat his various cuts and bruises.

Ted was sitting on a stretcher; he let someone shine a light in his eyes but pushed them away when he saw Chloe standing alone. She was staring thoughtfully at the sea.

Ted jumped down and wandered over.

'What is happening here?' he asked her. There was a moment's hesitation. A pause where someone was thinking very hard about what they were going to say next.

'I'm leaving,' Chloe said finally. Ted looked at her, the disbelief clear on his face.

'And I'm going with you?' he said hopefully but he could see the truth in her eyes.

'I'm sorry, Ted.'

It occurred to Ted that he had been waiting for this moment for a very long time. This was the moment where Chloe would speak her feelings. He was pretty sure it involved a very green hilly field and him and Chloe on opposite ends running towards each other in the blissful haze of sunshine and love.

It was definitely not meant to be like this.

Ted's face grew serious, 'I can't change your mind?'

'No.'

'Can I at least ask why then?'

Chloe was silent for a moment, 'I like you too much. To the point where I might think the word 'love' might be involved.'

'If you like me and I like you then I don't really see a problem here,' Ted said and this wasn't an unreasonable assumption.

Chloe wore a tired smile, 'Yes. Normally, that would be enough. But this situation isn't normal. I like adventures. Adventures aren't conducive to relationships. Back there in the thick of it, something clicked. The worry, it eats me up. You meddle with my head, the way I think. In the lives we lead, it wouldn't be unheard of to get hurt, or worse. I don't think I can cope with that. I can just about take care of myself. If something happened to you….I can't change who I am…'

Chloe trailed off wondering if she had made any sense. It just seemed that everything she had bottled up was making a comeback. She looked off to the side and downwards. Anywhere was better than seeing the broken expression on Ted's face. Why'd she have to go muck everything up? At that time Chloe couldn't have thought of a time where she had felt more self-loathing.

That was the thing when you were mean to Ted. You ended up feeling bad. He was too nice…too good. He deserved someone better than her. A person who was selfish enough to look out for number one only. Herself.

Ted proved his niceness once again which didn't do much for Chloe's hatred of herself. He reached out with a hand and touched her cheek, turning her head so that she was looking at him.

'Ok. Go. If this is truly how you feel then you shouldn't feel bad.'

Chloe wanted to choke. 'Who said I was feeling bad?'

Ted laughed, 'It's written all over your face.'

'Ah.'

The fact that Ted was smiling made Chloe feel worse. She felt like she had to explain herself, which wasn't something she really did.

'I feel like I've strung you along all this time,' she muttered.

'Well, you have,' Ted said, 'but I happily let you so don't worry about me. It's only my heart you've crushed and trampled on.'

Chloe narrowed her eyes, 'You're not making this any easier.'

'Good,' Ted said, he suddenly felt irritated for some reason, 'Surprisingly, I don't want you to go.'

Chloe felt a little taken aback by the bite in Ted's voice, but what had she expected. She was telling a man who she liked and who liked her back that she was leaving him for her own selfish reasons. Ted was a good guy but this was pushing the limits.

'I have to,' she said.

Ted was disgruntled, 'Well, don't hang about on my account. Chloe, if you want to go with every fibre of your being then go. I don't have the right to say anything. If you're leaving me half-heartedly then I can try whatever I want to get you to stay. By the look on your face, I'm leaning towards the latter situation. I get the feeling you're doing this out of the misguided notion that I'm asking you to change. I'm not.'

'It's the truth,' Chloe said softly, 'we can't do this. It won't work. We'd worry over each constantly if we kept doing what we wanted. Something would have to change.'

Ted wanted to shake Chloe by the shoulders in an attempt to get some sense into her but manage to control himself, 'I would have liked for us to find that out together. You seem to be convinced that our relationship is doomed.'

There was a moment of awkward silence.

'I'm not going to change my mind, Ted. You deserve better than this,' Chloe said finally.

Ted sighed. This all came down to Chloe not having much faith in herself. He had so much to say but he knew it wouldn't work. And so, against his better judgement, he gave up.

He put both hands on Chloe's shoulders and looked her in the eye.

'Chloe, I love you. You want to go? Go. I won't stop you. But one day…one day you'll see that this is a mistake. You don't have to be alone and you don't have to change. We could have made this work.'

Chloe closed her eyes, waited a beat then opened them again. She removed Ted's hands from her shoulders slowly and walked away.

She didn't look back.

…

'If this isn't the most awkward situation you have been in, raise your hand,' Barry said.

Unsurprisingly, neither Miguel nor Sully did.

Having ditched the dodgy paramedic, Sully and the other two men had helped unload the chopper and were just about thinking of rounding everyone up for a few rounds at the bar when they noticed that Ted and Chloe were talking. Seriously.

'What the heck just happened?' Sully murmured as Chloe walked away. Well, that was just rude. Not even a goodbye.

'Did Ted just get dumped?' Barry went on, 'because if he did then there's no hope for the rest of us.'

'Should we go over there and cheer him up?' Miguel asked, wishing he had brought his guitar with him. Nothing like a good sing along to get the heart mended.

Sully grunted. If this was him, and it had been in the past, he would probably want to be left alone. Not entirely alone though, a supportive Jack Daniel would be there too, as always.

Ted looked a little lost. He looked like he could do with a drink. Or maybe ten.

'Yeah, I think we should,' he said finally and then turned to Miguel, 'but no singing.'

Miguel looked crestfallen.

Ted wandered over with a dazed look about him.

The three over men shifted their feet nervously. None of them wanting to speak first.

'She didn't stay,' Ted said in an almost whisper.

Barry, Miguel and Sully exchanged worried glances.

'Uh, who? Chloe? I had no idea. It's not like we were listening to the whole conversation or anything,' Barry said, trying to sound natural and succeeding in something else completely: making a complete tit of himself.

Sully rolled his eyes. Clearly tact and subtlety meant absolutely nothing to the Brit and so Sully thought he would intervene.

'What do you say to a drink?'

Ted looked at him, 'You don't understand. She didn't stay. That last bit I said. It was a doozy. And she just left. Without saying a thing.'

Sully nodded knowingly, 'Women.'

Ted sighed. Women. Indeed.

'You want to sing a song?' Miguel asked. Sully shot him a look.

'What? I was just asking,' Miguel held up his hands in defence. Ted looked at the man warily.

'I think I'm ok for now,' he replied to Sully's relief.

'Uh, are you alright?' Sully asked. He didn't do this sort of thing. Talk about feelings. It wasn't in his nature. But Ted was a friend so he supposed that he should make the effort to ask.

'I'm fine, Sully,' Ted said, Sully raised an eyebrow for effect, 'seriously, I'm good.'

Barry didn't look convinced by Ted's apparent mood. He was pretty sure Ted was holding everything in and then without a second's notice would just break down into a crying sobbing heap.

'I think,' the British man said, 'we should go to the pub and have a proper lad's night out.'

'I think we should get some food too. I know a good chicken place,' Miguel chipped in.

'Sounds like a plan,' Sully said, a little bit surprised that the other two had suggested something sensible: eat food and then get rip-roaringly drunk.

'So where are we going for food?' Ted asked after a while.

'KFC' Miguel said.

'I didn't know you got those in Turkey,' Barry said conversationally.

Miguel nodded, 'Yeah, but it's not your American one. It's like a knock-off. Started in Egypt or something but has got pretty popular and spread.'

'Hah, I would laugh it was called, 'Kadir's Fried Chicken',' Ted said, remembering the man who had saved his life months ago. A fisherman obsessed with chicken.

'How did you know?' Miguel said, 'The man who founded the franchise is called Kadir.'

There was a stunned silence.

'He's done well for himself,' Barry commented after a while. Sully agreed.

Ted hung back for a moment and let the others gain some distance.

He turned his head, stared at the path Chloe had taken and wondered what to do next with his life. He should probably chase after her but something held him back. Maybe it was the way she had looked at him. She was determined that it wouldn't work. Ted sighed. One day…one day in the future…when his niece wouldn't scream when she saw his face or maybe when Nate finally grew a set and proposed to Elena…maybe then Chloe would decide that being with him wasn't so bad after all.

Ted shook his head at his unshakeable optimism and followed the guys to a knock-off KFC restaurant.

…

Afternoon gave way to evening as the sun sank. The air was thick and humid, filled with the smells of petrol fumes, dust and spice aromas.

In a small hospital a pair of aged ceiling fans creaked as they spun.

Tiny lights flashed and a beep sounded steadily.

In the quiet of the hospital ward, Nate and Elena sat by their son. Content. Yes, Nate was dosed up on painkillers and had enough bandages to potentially mummify someone but that wasn't an issue. The fact that he was going to be fine more than made up for the injuries.

The baby was awake, swaddled in a blanket and lying in a clear plastic box that protected it from the outside environment. The doctors said he was still too small, too weak to be exposed to the world outside for long periods of time. He looked around with wide eyes.

Nate felt a smile creep up his face. His son had looked at him, albeit with an unfocussed look and for about a split second but he had still done it.

Nate wanted to share this momentous news with Elena but when he turned to her, even though she was facing the incubator, she had a far-off look, as if she wasn't quite on planet Earth at the moment. He nudged her with an elbow and she returned with a tired smile.

'Sorry, I was thinking,' she said and turned to the baby. Checking on him. Making sure he was ok. Still a little paranoid that if she closed her eyes for long enough that he wouldn't be there when she opened them.

Nate could see this much and it worried him.

'Uh, you know the baby is going to be fine, right?' he said. Elena didn't reply but pressed her fingers to the plastic barrier that separated her from her child.

'He's so small,' she murmured.

'Yeah,' Nate said.

'He hasn't even got a name,' Elena said.

'We never even thought of one,' Nate said, 'Although, Nate Junior does have a ring to it.'

Elena cast him a baleful look, 'No.'

'Uh…and not Francis?'

'Would you let your son run around with the name Francis? He's going to be bullied,' Elena said.

Nate scowled, 'Nobody's gonna bully my son.'

Elena raised an eyebrow, silently thanking God they didn't have a daughter because Nate would probably have been the one of the most overprotective dads she would ever see. Nate, on the other hand, was glad to see that Elena was cheering up. He put a hand in the glove that was attached to box to allow access to the baby.

Elena watched fondly as the baby tried to hold one of Nate's fingers, the tiny fingers couldn't even wrap around one. And then Nate spoiled it.

She gave him a flat look, 'What was that?'

Nate shrugged, 'What?'

'You just poked him,' Elena said.

Nate grinned, 'His cheeks just looked really chubby and well - hey - it was in a comforting manner.'

The baby mewled and Elena shook her head. She had always wondered what Nate would be as a father. There was no doubt in her mind that he would be a good one. She just wondered about how he would achieve this and it seemed to her that he fell into the category of 'by being a well-meaning idiot'.

She supposed she would have to be the boring parent; the one with all the rules and unwavering bedtimes.

Elena linked her fingers with Nate's and put other her hand in the other glove. The baby stopped its snuffling and Nate glared.

'Huh, I think he likes you more than me,' he muttered.

Here they were, Elena thought, a strange little family.

'It's because you keep poking him,' she replied.

…

Nate sat back. Hours had passed. Elena was dozing peacefully in a chair beside him. His son was sleeping in the incubator, untroubled and…tiny.

After everything he had been through and fought for, he was here. In one piece.

It didn't feel so bad being a dad. When Elena had first told him about the pregnancy, Nate thought that his life was going to be over. That was a little dramatic but he really did think it. Children…children were a lot of responsibility. Then as time passed, he rationalised his thoughts by thinking that he was doing this for Elena. He loved Elena and Elena wanted the child so he could live with that and give her the life she had always wanted.

It was only until very recently that Nate actually finally pieced together his jumbled feelings on the matter. Elena being alone in Turkey. The baby being born without him being there. His son being seriously ill. Phil kidnapping his son before he even had the chance to hold him himself. These past events and their associated emotions all collided together, meeting at that one point on the dock where he had finally done it.

He had held his son, looked in his eyes, saw himself.

Nate had worried about seeing his son. He was worried that he wouldn't bond with him or not feel any connection at all. These doubts were unfounded because when he looked at the tiny baby in the dirty rags, he just knew.

This was his child.

He would do anything to protect him.

Elena leant into him and he put an arm around her. This was the woman that he knew without a doubt he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

It was quiet.

There would be troubles ahead, there always were but somehow it would work out. Nate would make sure they did.

The cosmic forces of the world were telling him that he had a chance. A shot at a real family and life filled with support from the people he loved.

Nate was only too happy to take it.

* * *

**I apologise to you guys, the readers, for the cheesy end…it was up there with the Stilton**

**I apologise to Miguel, I was never going to make up something spectacular for a Spartoi's death…**

**I apologise to Ted who was unfairly treated by Chloe…there was no real reason to do this…I could have just let them be…**

**I also apologise to Ted for giving him lame dialogue…**

**You could tell where I had to shove in that Spartoi who had got Phil out of jail lol…**

**Thanks to Anna Marie Raven who came up with the idea of Kadir opening a chicken restaurant a while back…I managed to get it in lol…**

**Now that I've written the chapter I feel like most of it is very unnecessary…probably a few of the chapters are as well lol**

**I asked a friend who had never played the games or read this story how this should end…her version was pretty good…it had a pterodactyl in it…in terms of Uncharted it could have been possible lol…**

**I have to admit that I never saw this story turning out the way it did…I think when I started out it was meant to be totally about Nate and Elena and the baby situation…very domestic…instead it's totally been owned by a dodgy backstory about dragon bits and bobs and not really to do with Nate and Elena at all…this is what happens when you don't plan stories lol…I spend more time talking about other characters**

…

**To the people who read some of this, so in reality, aren't seeing this now…thank you…the fact you read a bit of this is awesome**

**To the people who read this or wrote a review…thank you**

**Uncharted was one of things that's really good at capturing people's imaginations…the characters, the stories…I was sucked into the games and at the end of the second one I was like…I need more…you can't just leave it there …so I wrote this lol…something to tide me over till the next game…I'm glad people read this and enjoyed it…the fact that this story has got this many reviews is pretty damn cool…**

**I hope they make a fourth Uncharted game…and I hope it is as good as the last three…I really want to see ninjas**

**I have rambled way too much…sorry…I'm also acting like I've won a bloody Oscar**

**I'd be honoured if you guys stuck around for the epilogue lol…it will wrap up Ted's 'One day when blah blah' line and all that**

**And now for that bit in the middle of the credits that people miss if they're in a cinema and have gone home as soon as the film ended lol…**

* * *

_A hotel bar somewhere in Turkey_

Barry cheered as Ted downed another pint of beer.

It wasn't even that late at night but the four men had managed to drink a fair bit between them.

Miguel ordered another round for the table.

'Ok, ok, I got a joke,' he said drunkenly.

This got another cheer from Barry who was the type of drunk likely to cheer at almost anything anyone did or said.

Sully washed down his whisky with another one and shook his head. Young people these days. Christ, he thought, I really am old. With a sigh he ordered another drink.

'What did Ted say when Chloe left him?' Miguel continued.

Barry raised an eyebrow, he may have been drunk but there were limits. Ted stared at Miguel and then drank heavily from the beer that had just been delivered.

'Please save me,' he muttered to Sully.

'No can do, kid. You're on your own. For some reason I want to see where he's going with this,' Sully replied.

'I don't know, Miguel, what did I say when Chloe…left me,' Ted said.

'But you didn't have to cut me off!'

Barry groaned. Ted finished his beer and quickly got another and then paused. What the hell? There was no point in getting angry at the guy. It was kinda true. Ted was getting on in the scale of drunkenness, it was a good thing that he didn't have a phone on him otherwise he would have gone down the classic 'text drunkenly to ex-girlfriend' route.

He raised his glass to Miguel, 'But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough,' he finished the chorus and Miguel clinked glasses with him sloppily.

'Ok ok, I got another,' Miguel said.

Barry looked to Ted, 'Oh no, look you've gone and encouraged him now.'

Ted grinned lopsidedly, 'It's alright, the guy's having fun.'

Sully looked confused, 'I don't get it.'

Barry and Ted looked at him with pity and Sully felt very left out.

'What did Phil's leg say to him when it got amputated?'

'Oh God,' Barry said and shook his head. He was not nearly drunk enough to take this.

'But you didn't have to cut me off!' Ted and Miguel shouted in unison.

Sully raised an eyebrow. Even Ted was joining in.

'Care to fill me in?' Sully asked Barry who was looking rather grim.

Miguel had another joke to share.

'What did Phil say when the Spartoi bent over to kill him?'

Barry and Sully were quiet.

'But you didn't have to stoop so low!'

Ted and Miguel were an unstoppable Gotye force.

'I hope they don't start taking their clothes off,' Barry muttered. Sully choked on his drink.

'What? Why they would they do that?'

Barry turned to the older man; he had found that he had sobered a lot quicker than he would have liked. 'Well, they're using a line from this song and in the music video the man hasn't got any clothes on and he gets painted on.'

'If they start taking their clothes off, I'm leaving,' Sully said.

Barry looked bemused as Miguel tried to open a can of paint that had, for some inexplicable reason, been left next to their table.

'Where the crap did that come from?' Sully asked.

Barry wrestled the tin away from Miguel before anything could happen. 'I don't know,' he said, 'but I do know that there isn't another bar for ages and I am not letting these two get us kicked out.'

Miguel blew a raspberry at Barry and got up unsteadily and struggled over to the bar where he ordered some more drinks.

It was at this point a woman who had been also ordering her drinks caught the attention of an inebriated Miguel.

Barry went a little grey, 'Oh dear, this isn't going to end well. Somebody should stop him.'

Both Ted and Sully looked at their glasses busily and Barry huffed.

'Fine. I guess, I'll do it,' he sighed and got up in time to hear Miguel say something to the woman.

'Hey, I just met you and this is crazy-.'

As Barry dragged the jukebox that was Miguel away from a shocked woman, he got the feeling that it was going to be a very, very long night.

He wasn't wrong.

* * *

**While I managed to hold back the Avengers referencing I couldn't stop the Gotye ones lol…sorry…the xylophoney bit thing in this song reminds me a lot of ba ba black sheep…**

**For anyone who doesn't know this song, I apologise because this scene probably didn't make any sense, it's called 'Somebody that I used to know' by Gotye…it used to be played a lot…its comprised of a fair bit of mumbling and then he just shouts 'But you didn't have to cut me off!' etc…**

**Obviously, I don't own this song or anything…**

**The other song at the end is called 'Call me maybe' by Carly Rae Jepsen and I definitely have nothing to do with this song lol**

…

**I apologise for all the spelling and grammar mistakes that I have made throughout this story…there are quite a few**

**Thanks for being patient**

**Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy but… you read this story, so review it, maybe?**

**I couldn't stop myself…since I'm stuck with this song in my head I'm going to try put it in yours too lol**

**Pfft... mine were fairly lame but if any of you have song puns I'd love to hear them**


	38. Epilogue

**Yo**

**I want to say this although it doesn't really mean much…I honestly did not intend for this massive gap in chapters…other stuff got in the way majorly…sorry…first of all…I was being my usual lazy self and then when I thought that I should start writing again… the ps3 died…by YLOD…I thought it only happened to other people lol but no…I've had the thing for over five years…words can't describe how gutted I feel lol…just as I was getting over losing a lot of data my laptop conked out two days later with motherboard failure…so that had to be replaced…the laptop also had over half of this chapter on it so I was kind of stuck till the guy fixed it**

**If the past week has taught me anything it's that there isn't much going on with my life once the laptop and ps3 have gone lol…I watched more Olympics this year than I have put together probably **

**I also had no idea how I wanted the ending to go either…**

**The setting for this is a few months after the final chapter…I don't really have an exact time frame…longer than a couple of months…shorter than a year…helpful I know lol…**

**In the last chapter Ted posed an interesting thought that opened up the storyline for this epilogue**

* * *

Epilogue

Nate stood very still. He leant forward and pressed an ear to the door. There was silence. A few seconds passed and deciding that it was safe to move he tiptoed to the dressing table that occupied one side of the room.

With a furtive look around, he reached round the large mirror and drew out a small object. He relocated to the bed, sat down heavily and stared at the object he had just procured.

Just thinking about the small velvet-faced box made his palms sweat. He rubbed them on worn jeans and flicked the lid open. Nestled in a satin cushion was a ring. It seemed small, insignificant almost, but it had been bought with his money and from a proper jewellers shop. It was the real deal.

He would have to ask today, he had put it off so many times. Although why this was, even to Nate, was a mystery. He knew his life had reached a steady point. It was a good steady point.

Nate's life was moving on but it wouldn't go any further without him doing this one thing.

The restaurant had been booked and baby sitter organised. He guessed if he was going to do this, he'd do it properly.

Now for the hard part.

Nate listened for the sound of footsteps and upon hearing none, returned the ring and its box to its hiding place and padded downstairs to the kitchen.

Elena was there, chopping an onion with a look of intense concentration on her face. Nate gulped.

'Uh, Elena?'

The knife stopped moving and Elena looked at him expectantly.

'Yes?'

'How about eating out tonight?' Nate was conscious that he was trying to sound natural and in doing so probably sounded shiftier than he ought to. Elena raised an eyebrow and glared at him as if he were from the moon.

'Eat _out? _We haven't eaten out in months. We're the parents of a young baby. We don't eat out,' she said and resumed chopping. The baby gurgled from his high seat and Nate went over to entertain him and at the same time gain some new tactics.

The baby, in delight at seeing its father, burped. Nate grinned.

Babies cried a lot. Nate wasn't bothered by this so much. He had expected it to a certain extent but what he hadn't bargained for were the timings. It seemed that whenever he was about to fall asleep the baby cried…and cried.

Even if he wasn't thinking of proposing, a night off from being parents would be a nice thing.

'What if I said I have already booked a table at a fancy restaurant and some baby-sitters,' Nate tried.

There was silence as Elena digested this information. Nate swivelled to look at her reaction, it wasn't good. The knife was being gripped a little too tightly for Nate's comfort.

'Something tells me this isn't an 'if' situation,' Elena said.

Nate sighed, 'You're right. I've booked a table for seven and the babysitter is due in an hour.'

The temperature in the room dropped a little.

'What about this onion?' Elena asked. Nate paused.

'Uh…we'll eat it tomorrow?' he hazarded.

Elena put down the knife, 'One does not just leave a chopped onion uncooked!'

'I'm sorry,' Nate said automatically, wondering why Elena was getting stressed at the loss of one onion. He guessed he should find out, 'Is something wrong?'

Elena sighed. Today had been a trying day. Things were not working. The washing machine was on the fritz. The toaster now only seemed to give six different shades of burnt and she was pretty sure the clothes she was wearing were covered in some sort of baby fluid. And now to top it all off, Nate wanted to go to eat out when she had already started cooking dinner. Did he have any idea of what she was going through? She didn't have time to go to dinner in a fancy restaurant. She needed to ring a mechanic for the washing machine and do other things that were along the same level of excitement. Minimal, to say the least.

This seemed to be a bit much to say to Nate who was looking very confused. But she had noticed. You had to be blind not to. The way he looked when he had first spoken to her. He was up to something.

'I'll eat the onion now, if that would make you feel any better,' Nate added and Elena grimaced. He honestly thought he could make things better by eating a raw onion. He must really want this dinner to happen. This determination was telling Elena things. It was raising her hopes. A dangerous thing to be sure.

In the past, Elena had been sure that Nate was going to ask her something. Something very important. Something life changing. But it had never happened. Elena thought this was strange. They had settled into this life easily. Playing the parent and the partner, it was like they were married anyway, so why couldn't he just ask the damn question?

Elena was past caring how it was asked. Just the word being mentioned in a favourable light would do.

'You don't have to eat the onion,' she said finally, 'but seriously, if I'm thinking of going to this dinner you had better tell me who the baby sitters are. We've never left him before. How do you know these people are trustworthy?'

Nate sensed a breakthrough. He wondered what he said next would win her over. He should have thought about this more.

'It's Sully…and Miguel,' Nate said finally.

Elena picked up the knife again and Nate stood behind the high chair as a defence.

'Sully I can just about handle…but Miguel? He attracts trouble,' Elena said and rinsed the knife and chopping board. Something to keep her mind occupied so she wouldn't have to think about what Nate had just done.

'Miguel always means well. He's in town and he just sorta jumped in on things. Sully will keep him under control,' Nate said. Well, he hoped Sully would.

Elena pointed a soapy knife at him. 'I'm warning you, if we come home and our son starts saying 'mongo' I think I may just lose it.'

Nate held his hands up, 'Don't worry, that won't happen. I promise.'

Elena glared at him but didn't say anything.

Nate walked to her, took the knife out her hand and placed it in the drying rack. Framing her face in his hands he said, 'Look, everything will be fine. I think we just need an evening to ourselves, for our own sanity, if anything. One evening is all I'm asking for.'

'Hmm, fine, fine, but if this turns out to be a disaster we're going to be having some serious words,' she said and left the room, adding silently to herself that if he didn't ask the question tonight they were going to be having serious words anyway.

Nate stood in the quiet of the kitchen. The refrigerator hummed and the baby made wet noises. After a while Nate heard the boiler kick in as Elena turned on the shower.

Hah, he had done it. He was on his way. He had convinced Elena to go to dinner and she hadn't suspected a thing. Now all he needed to do was begin preparations so his night wouldn't be interrupted by various people asking him to go on adventures.

Nate picked up his son and carried him upstairs. For some reason he was feeling optimistic about tonight.

He _was _going to ask Elena to marry him and she _would _say yes and they _would _all live happily ever after.

…

Ted stepped out the car with an itch in his throat.

It had nothing to do with the summer air which was, today, the perfect temperature but more to do with his churning emotions.

He hadn't been here in a while. It was his decision to avoid this house. From the bright streamers and balloons hanging from the door it was evident that it was someone's birthday. Most probably a child's.

The wrapped present in his hands felt like a dead weight. Did he really want to be here?

Before he could get in the car and drive off, the front door opened. A woman stood in the porch and waved.

Ted felt like a magnet had got hold of him. Something pulled him towards the house, his legs moved of their own accord and his face wore a smile that he wasn't sure he really felt.

He went into the house and put the present on a stack of the things.

The woman put her arms around him and he reciprocated the gesture.

'You look good,' she said and then peered at his face properly, 'hmm, maybe not. Don't be such a miserable moo. Is this how you act when you see your sister for the first time in months? Where's the love?'

Ted managed a laugh and hugged a little harder, 'I'm happy, I'm definitely happy.'

His sister made a sound as if she didn't believe him but stepped back.

A small girl hung back in the hallway.

Ted looked at his niece with trepidation. If she started crying he would leave. He wouldn't even say bye to his sister. He would just leave.

The girl looked him hard in the face like young people do when they try and work out how to best exploit your weaknesses.

But she didn't cry.

Ted couldn't quite explain how relieved he felt.

…

Chloe sat back. The arrivals hall bustled with activity. People making connecting flights hurried away and others milled about with luggage trolleys trying to find relatives or taxis.

She had nowhere to go and no one to see.

Chloe let her head drop back and rest against the hard plastic that made up her seat.

She supposed she could ring Nate and see what he was up to. Oh, wait, wasn't he meant to be proposing soon? Chloe frowned; the last time she had talked to him, he had told her about all the failed attempts. Since she hadn't heard anything back since then she supposed he hadn't actually gone through with it yet.

Her phone buzzed.

Speak of the devil, she thought and answered.

'Yes.'

'_Hey, this is Nate, I just wanted to tell you something.'_

'Have you finally proposed?' Chloe asked, curious.

'_No, but that's what I'm ringing about. I'm going to do it today and I don't want any interruptions. If you find a dragon jawbone, hell, if you find a real dragon, I don't want to know.'_

'Right. I'm glad we cleared that up,' Chloe said flatly, 'Do you honestly see my name come up on the caller id and think 'oh, no, I bet Chloe's got another adventure lined up for me'?'

There was a moment's silence.

'_No, but knowing my luck something unforeseen will stop me from doing this. It usually does,' _Nate muttered, '_If it makes you feel any better, I'm ringing quite a few people with the same message. Even Ted.'_

Chloe scowled, there was no need to bring that man's name up and Nate knew it. He was just being a jerk.

'That,' she replied acidly, 'was unnecessary.'

'_I have a point though, and you know it. Look at me, I'm doing things. I'm going to get married,' _Nate replied.

'You haven't even asked her yet,' Chloe muttered.

'_That's true but I'm sure she'll yes,' _Nate said with wavering confidence. Chloe rolled her eyes. The man really had nothing to worry about. Those two were made for each other. Or something like that.

'You'll be fine,' Chloe said as encouragingly as she could and then frowned, 'How are you going to do it?'

'_Well, I've booked a nice restaurant and got some babysitters,' _Nate explained.

'You trust the babysitters?' Chloe asked.

'_Since it's Sully and Miguel, yes.'_

Chloe made a strangled sound that had people turning to stare at her.

'Excuse me? Sully and _Miguel_? Are you sure about this?' Chloe asked, thinking that if she were ever in the need of a babysitter she would never, ever consider Sully and Miguel. Especially Miguel.

'_I'd trust them with my life,'_ Nate said, '_I think they can handle this. It's just one evening.'_

'I'm surprised Elena let this happen,' Chloe commented.

'_I think she wants this break as much as I do. Children are hard work_,' Nate said.

Chloe was glad that she would never have to go through this.

'Well, good luck,' she said and meant it.

'_You just said I'll be fine,' _Nate said.

'I wasn't talking about the proposing. I'm talking about the dynamic duo you've hired to take care of your son.'

They said their goodbyes and disconnected the call.

Chloe went into thinking mode again.

She had been travelling with no real aim. It was nice. She did like being on her own but she was aware that something was wrong. Something was missing. It was like a nasty little itch that was in a place impossible to reach.

In the past few months, what had she learnt? That she liked to travel? She knew that already. That she liked to be alone? She had been alone all her life. It was something she had gotten used to.

She knew what being alone was like.

She had only assumed what it was like to not be alone.

Chloe shook her head.

Where were all these thoughts coming from? Maybe she was just tired.

With this in mind she went in search of a hotel.

…

Nate did up the buttons of his shirt.

He hadn't worn something so formal in a long time. It felt weird to not wear something covered in baby related gloop. It was a nice feeling though.

His jacket hung on the back of a chair. Casting a look towards the bathroom door, Nate quickly shoved his hand behind the mirror and pulled out the ring box. He checked the ring was actually in there and put it in his trouser pocket. Sorted.

There was a clunk as the bathroom door unlocked and Elena stood in the doorway, 'What are you up to?' she asked. Since he was just standing there grinning like an idiot, he supposed she did have a right to ask.

'Nothing, just watching the little guy,' he replied, gesturing at the baby. Elena stared at him long and hard but didn't make a comment.

In fact, Nate had just been totally blown away by the Elena who had stepped out of the bathroom. He was a lucky man. He thought that every day. Even Elena covered in pasta sauce and baby juices made him feel lucky but seeing her now, like this, dressed up for him, he couldn't help but feel insanely happy.

It also made him think of other things. Things which happened less often than Nate would have liked. One of those hidden costs of having young children that Nate hadn't even thought of. Elena frowned at the look Nate was giving her.

'Now I know what you're thinking. Wipe that dirty look off your face, mister. We're going for a civilised meal,' she said and went to check on the baby.

Nate was going to push his luck a little further but then the doorbell rang.

With a curse that gave Elena some amusement, he went downstairs with the baby.

The door opened to reveal Sully and Miguel.

Sully was armed with pizza and Miguel wore a goofy grin. They barged in. The baby looked at them with wide-eyed wonder.

Sully who was still on shaky ground with communicating with children said, 'How ya' doing?'

The baby made no response but gave Miguel a look of deep suspicion.

'Where's Elena?' Sully asked, looking around the living room with interest. He picked up a golden ornament from a side table and put it down again.

'She's upstairs getting ready,' Nate said and then raised an eyebrow at Sully, 'See something you like?'

'Nah, I just thought it was weird that you decorated your new house with all the weird crap you've accumulated from your adventures,' Sully commented.

The trio of men and baby moved towards the sofa.

Nate shrugged, 'I had to put _something _around the place. When we got the house I realised how much room there actually was and that I had hardly anything to put there. I don't think I've stayed in one place for so long. It feels strange putting stuff up, knowing it'll be there for years.'

Sully set the pizza down on the coffee table. He found the TV remote and clicked it on. Sports commentators were immersed in a pre-game discussion. If it wasn't for the baby propped up next to him this would have been like every other night Sully had experienced. He was getting old.

'So,' Miguel said with a conspiratorial eyebrow-wiggle, 'Have you got the ring?'

Nate patted his pocket, 'Yep, and you guys better not spoil this.'

Sully and Miguel turned to look at him with hurt expressions.

'What are you talking about?' Sully asked, 'we're just gonna watch the game and eat pizza. You don't trust us?'

'You cut me deep,' Miguel said dramatically and Nate sighed.

'Don't get me wrong. You guys are great but whenever I try to propose things just tend to get out of hand. And Miguel, don't take this personally or anything but things just get downright bizarre when you're involved.'

Miguel couldn't disagree and then frowned.

'Elena's taking her time isn't she?'

Sully frowned and craned his head to look past Miguel who was standing in front of the TV, 'Women take ages to get ready. It's one of those rules of life thingies. Cripes, Miguel, get out of the way.'

Nate looked at him, 'Uh huh…and would another one of those rules of life…thingies…be that old men are only ever grumpy.'

Sully didn't even look up, 'Yes.'

'Thanks for clearing that up,' Nate muttered and then frowned, Elena _was_ taking her time. He hoped nothing had happened.

He headed for the stairs, a hundred and one things racing through his mind as to what could be keeping Elena so long. A ninja fight came to mind. And since there were ninjas involved that would explain why they hadn't heard anything. Another well-thought out reason was that a time paradox had opened and sucked Elena into a vortex that had dropped her out into the early 1900s where after failing to find a way back, she resigned herself to the time she was in and married a factory owner called Graham.

Nate realised as he pounded up the stairs that his imagination was getting the better of him. It was probably nerves. He could have faced down a hundred armed men easy-peasy, but the thought of proposing to Elena made his legs feel like jelly.

…

Elena picked up the phone as soon as Nate left to open the door. She had the number on speed-dial. While she waited for it to connect she sat on the bed and stared at the overflowing wash-basket. That washing machine really needed to be fixed soon. She sighed. She wanted to enjoy this evening Nate had planned but there were so many things to worry about not to mention the babysitters entrusted to her only son.

'_Hello?'_

The muzzy voice on the other end broke into Elena's thoughts.

'It's Elena. I'm sorry, were you asleep?'

'_Was. Was asleep. But what's up?' _Chloe's voice didn't sound irritable and Elena took this as a good sign.

'I think Nate's going to propose,' Elena said. It felt weird saying that. To be honest she didn't really know why she needed to tell people but funnily enough, with all these domestic problems mounting Elena had found talking to Chloe over the months had been fairly therapeutic. Maybe it was because the other woman was still living the old life, full of travel and more importantly, freedom.

'_Huh, how long have you been waiting now? Years…yeah…I think it's been years now_,' Chloe replied, '_what gave him away?' _

'Well, he insisted we go out for dinner this evening. He was pretty determined,' Elena explained.

'_That doesn't sound very suspicious. People eat dinner all the time,'_ Chloe said neutrally.

'If you ever came to see us you would know that going out to dinner is a big thing. A massive thing actually,' Elena said and heaved a sigh.

'_If you guys can't handle suburban life then I don't think I ever could,' _Chloe muttered upon hearing Elena's depressive tone.

Elena perked up at this, 'Does that mean you're thinking about getting together with Ted?'

'_No!' _Chloe spluttered, '_What made you think that? I haven't thought about him for ages.'_

Elena knew better than that, in fact, she probably knew Chloe's feelings better than Chloe did herself.

'If you hadn't thought about him in ages you wouldn't be thinking about having the suburban life with him,' Elena commented.

Chloe grunted, '_Look, aren't we here to talk about your engagement? Congratulations. I'm very happy for you. I'm sure you have this thing already planned in the time you've waited for Nate to propose but you'd better invite me to some sort of cake tasting. I like cake.'_

Elena smiled at Chloe's change of subject.

'We were practically married anyway but it's nice to have it formalised,' Elena wondered how to phrase this next part and chewed her lip, 'You know, we haven't changed at all because of this. I am the same person I always was. Nate's still the same guy. Well, if anything, he's got a bit sillier but otherwise he is just the same.'

There was silence and then '_Where are you going with this?' _

'I think I'm trying to say that relationships aren't bad. Staying in one place and putting down some roots isn't that bad but it isn't your only option. Your know Ted loves you. He's not trying to take away your freedom...he just wants you…and your happiness…or something like that,' at that point Elena ran out of steam and really just wanted to kick Chloe's butt to shake her out of her apathy.

'_Right, yes, thanks. That cake tasting – don't forget to invite me,' _irritation crept into Chloe's voice and Elena got the feeling she had just crossed a line but she wasn't going to give up. Elena was going to get her lovey-dovey fairy tale ending and there was no reason why Chloe shouldn't either.

'Speaking of cakes,' Elena began her final gambit, 'It's Ted's niece's birthday today. The last time I spoke to him he said he was going to stay at his sister's for a while. If you dropped by, I'm sure you would be able to get some cake.'

'_That was a very…very weak link,' _Chloe said after a while. Elena could almost imagine the other woman narrowing her eyes at what she had just said.

'Just think about it,' Elena pressed and turned towards the bedroom door. Someone was coming up the stairs. It was probably Nate.

'Uh, I gotta go, I think Nate's coming. Look, you've got nothing to lose here. You like taking risks, don't you? Just go to Ted and see what happens,' Elena rattled off the address that Ted had given her in case she needed to contact him just as Nate entered the room.

Nate stood and looked at her suspiciously, 'Who are you talking to? It isn't Graham, is it?'

Elena frowned at him, said a quick goodbye and clicked the phone off, 'Who the heck is Graham?'

Nate shook his head, 'It's nothing, don't worry.'

'I was just talking to Chloe,' Elena said and picked up her purse.

Nate gave her a strange look, 'Oh, and what did she say?'

'Nothing much, I was just asking her about mechanics for washing machines,' Elena said, it was a long shot but Nate seemed so preoccupied about Graham, whoever he was, that he accepted this explanation without much hesitation.

'You ready to go?' Nate asked her.

For some reason she felt nervous. She hoped that she wasn't pinning all her hopes on this evening for nothing and even though Nate had assured her that nothing would go wrong she found it hard to believe. Elena turned to Nate and gave him a smile.

'As ready as I'll ever be.'

…

Chloe stared at the ceiling. Lying on her back on an airport hotel bed her arm was outstretched above her. In her hand was an idle cell phone.

The conversation with Elena hadn't made her feel much better and she had just got plain confused when she heard Nate say 'Graham'.

She let her arm fall to the side. It bounced on aged springs.

Not for the first time, Chloe sighed. There was no doubt about it. It wasn't about wanting. It was need. She needed Ted. So she could be complete and all that blah.

Something was holding her back though.

It was possible that she was afraid of commitment and what it entailed. Chloe could understand this. She had lived a free life, doing what she wanted when she wanted without having to worry about how it affected others and then Ted had come along and spoiled everything.

She could also be afraid of turning into Elena who seemed a little bit on edge a lot of the time. Chloe couldn't even begin to count the amount of domestic complaints that Elena had thrown at her. Broken appliances, babies crying and unappreciative menfolk seemed to be the next stop on the relationship road.

Chloe did not like the sound of this but was realistic enough to know.

Ted was that kind of a guy. He suited the white-picket fence cliché. The question was could she fit into it too.

Probably not, the pessimist and more dominant part of Chloe thought.

If she was going to find Ted, and this was only a hypothetical, Chloe told herself, then she needed to know one thing and there was only one way to find out.

She dialled the phone.

'_Hello?'_

'I need to know. Do you ever regret settling down? I mean, you talk an awful lot about broken washing machines and stuff. It sounds rotten to me.'

There was silence on the other side as Elena thought about this.

'_I don't regret it and I don't think I ever will. I love this life and yes, I complain, but I would rather have this than wonder whether we would live through the next few hours_.'

Chloe closed her eyes and disconnected without saying goodbye.

With a flick of her wrist, she checked her watch and recalled the address Elena had told her.

There was enough time. If she left now she could make it.

The only question now was what she was going to do once she was there.

…

Ted soon found himself surrounded by a group of five year olds. All were in awe of his scarred face.

'He's just like Harry Potter,' one of the girls said in a whisper. While Ted thought that this wasn't true at all, this comment did seem to win him points with the children. They clustered round him, their eager faces shining

'Did you fight Voldemort? Is that why you have a scar,' one of the boys asked.

'Uh, no,' Ted replied.

'Are you sure?' the boy said with narrowed eyes.

Ted had thought that he pretty good with children but this experience was clearly telling him that children had changed since he had last seen them. 'I'm pretty sure,' he said.

The kids looked disappointed and already tired of the new visitor ran back to the garden where a giant bouncy castle awaited them.

Ted watched them go and his sister joined him.

'Tough crowd?' she asked.

Ted turned to her, 'I swear I don't even know kids anymore. Harry Potter? Seriously?'

'It's a phase that started just after you left for your trip in Europe,' his sister explained and then nudged him rather painfully with an elbow.

'What was that for?' Ted grimaced, rubbing his side.

His sister gave him an excited look, 'Well, tell me. What happened when you went to London? Did you find Chloe? You were gone for ages and we haven't talked properly since.'

Ted sighed. London. That felt like an age ago and, to be honest, considering what had happened with the whole Turkish escapade that followed, slightly insignificant. At any rate that chapter of his life hadn't ended the way he wanted it to.

His sister sensed this and quietened down. 'Oh,' she said after a while.

Ted hadn't told his sister much about what he did. All she knew was that he was often out of the country as a private security consultant and on his travels one year he'd fallen in love with an Australian woman called Chloe. It wasn't much to go on but his sister had turned into an epic love story. You could have almost seen the stars in her eyes when Ted had first told her about it.

In an effort to avoid too many questions Ted had told her that the relationship wasn't going anywhere because Chloe didn't want to leave Australia. While this was nowhere near the truth it was believable and his sister ate it up like a trashy romance novel.

'She broke it off,' Ted said. He was a massive sap. It still hurt, even after this long.

'I'm sorry,' his sister said with feeling.

'Pfft. I'm fine.'

His sister gave him the raised eyebrow and shook her head.

'Hey, if you believe it maybe I will too,' Ted muttered and his sister laughed.

'That's not how it works; maybe you should go see Emily though. It might take your mind off things,' his sister suggested.

Ted thought that was a good idea and went to the garden, wordlessly accepting the beer that his brother-in-law, Pete, pressed into his hand. His life wasn't completely worthless, his niece didn't scream her head off every time she saw him. He could draw comfort from this at least.

He found her playing with the other children who were busy pulling their shoes off for the bouncy castle.

The boy from before spotted him instantly.

'Oh look, it's Harry Potter,' he said and the other kids looked up. His niece was one of them. She skipped over, took his hand and led him over to the others. Ted thought it was strange that only a year ago this little girl was confined to a hospital bed.

'This is my uncle Ted,' little Emily began, 'He is not Harry Potter. Harry Potter could do magic. Uncle Ted can't do magic. Also Harry has a girlfriend called Ginny; Uncle Ted doesn't even have a girlfriend.'

Pete, who was flipping burgers on a family sized barbeque snorted and Ted couldn't quite believe how wounding a five-year old's words could be.

The children however accepted this as concrete proof that he wasn't a fictional character which was something Ted supposed.

Emily beamed at Ted and having finished protecting her uncle plopped down and resumed unbuckling her shoes.

Ted couldn't help but smile and sat down next to her. While he busied himself unbuckling her other shoe, Emily patted him on the head.

'You're better than Harry Potter,' she told him in a no-nonsense voice. Ted grinned.

'Thanks, but even Harry Potter has a girlfriend,' he replied. While the slightly mocking tone was lost on the five year old, she looked at him seriously.

'You'll be fine, Uncle Ted. You'll find your own Belle and everything will be happy,' Emily said with conviction.

'Belle?' Ted asked confused.

'Yes, like in Beauty and the Beast,' Emily explained patiently as if she were talking to a plank.

Pete gave a hoot of laughter and Ted sighed. Children were no longer just physically tiring.

Before he could deal with more harsh words his cell phone buzzed. Emily gave him a hug and joined her friends on the castle.

Ted flipped the phone open.

'Hello?'

'_Yo, it's Nate_,' came the reply.

'What's up?' Ted asked.

'_I'm going to propose to Elena today and I just wanted to say that if you suddenly caught yourself in an adventure please don't call me. I don't want to know.'_

Ted laughed, 'Copy that. What have you got planned?'

'_Fancy restaurant. Proposal after dessert_,' Nate replied.

'What about the baby?' Ted asked.

'_Sully and Miguel are going to babysit for us,'_ Nate replied.

'Really? They…they wouldn't be my first choice,' Ted commented and he heard Nate grunt.

'_What is it with you guys? Chloe said the same thing too. If you don't remember they saved our lives. They're trustworthy_.'

'I don't doubt their trustworthiness. It's just that…well it's your baby. You can do what you want-,' it was at this point that Ted registered what Nate had just said, 'wait, Chloe? You talked to Chloe?'

'_Well, yeah, I'm ringing everyone and telling them to leave me alone_,' Nate said and then his man brain finally caught up with the situation, '_Ooooooh, you want her number or something?'_

Ted closed his eyes and pinched his nose, 'Uh, no, I, uh, was just wondering how she was,' he finished lamely, not quite understanding how just hearing about her got his heart rate going.

Nate was quiet for a moment, '_Sure. Sure. You know, ringing her wouldn't be a bad thing.'_

Ted felt that familiar irritation creep back, 'She made it very clear that we were over. I don't think she would want to listen to anything I had to say.'

'_Well, if you're sure,'_ Nate replied and clicked off.

Ted fell back onto the grass and stared at the sky. Nate was proposing and moving on with his life.

What was he doing? Mooning after a woman who didn't want him and getting owned by a five year old girl.

The words 'utter' and 'loser' came to mind.

…

Nate and Elena had been gone a while when there was a knock at the door.

Sully had been split between actually watching the game and explaining the rules to Miguel who had no concept of American football.

The two men looked at the door.

'Do we open it?' Miguel asked.

Sully pondered this, 'I guess we can, it's half-time anyway.'

They approached the door cautiously. Sully wasn't entirely convinced there was an evil entity behind the door but this was the first time he had been given the task of babysitting someone's kid so he thought he'd better be thorough. Especially since the kid in question was Nate's son.

Miguel opened the door and gave a squeal of delight.

'Oh, I wasn't expecting you here,' the oh-so familiar British accent said.

'What are you doing here?' Sully asked incredulous. There wasn't anything wrong with this visitor but there was now an even higher chance of something silly happening and ruining Nate's moment.

'Is that any way to greet an old friend?' Barry asked.

Sully didn't reply and stalked back to the sofa and pizza while Miguel invited Barry in.

'What's up with him?' Barry asked Miguel.

'He's getting old,' Miguel replied wisely.

'I heard that,' Sully grunted, 'but seriously, why are you here?'

'I'm in the country for a few days so I thought I'd pop by and see the baby,' Barry explained and he looked around as if looking for someone, 'So where are Nate and Elena?'

'You didn't get a call from Nate?' Miguel asked surprised, 'He's going to propose to Elena today. They're at a fancy restaurant right now.'

'Ah, I was flying most of the day, come to think of it, I still haven't turned my phone back on,' Barry said and rummaged around in his bag for it. 'Oh yeah, before I forget, I got a present for the baby.'

Sully, who was sitting closest to the baby, looked at the package suspiciously.

'This is something…child suitable…isn't it?' he asked. For some reason he had the horrible sensation that if Barry or Miguel were going to buy a gift for a child, they would do it all wrong.

'Wow, Sully, I'm not Miguel,' Barry muttered. Miguel looked wounded.

Barry opened the wrapping to reveal a Manchester United football kit in a baby size.

'Awwww,' Miguel said, 'It's so diddy.'

Barry settled himself onto the sofa and said hello to the baby.

'So what are we doing?' Barry asked conversationally.

Sully looked at him, eyebrow raised, 'You're staying?'

'Of course, I might as well wait for Nate and Elena to come home. Then I can congratulate them in person.'

Sully grunted, 'We're watching football.'

'Ah, I never understood your American football. I always try to understand but it always boils down to people wearing body armour running into each other. How does it work?' Barry chattered away, unaware of Sully's darkening facial expression.

On the other side of Barry, Miguel was putting the football kit on the baby. Sully stopped him as soon as he noticed.

'Hey, get that off him, now,' Sully barked.

'What? Why?' Miguel asked, confused.

'You forgot already? Yeesh, I told you earlier, you're not to go near the baby 'cuz you're crazy,' Sully said.

'He's got a point,' Barry said to Miguel and took the child off him.

Holding the baby in front of him, Barry became aware of a rather _organic _smell.

'Bloody hell, I think he's done a shi-…I mean doo doo…yes doo doo…he's done a doo doo,' Barry corrected himself as Sully glared at him.

The three men were silent. Each contemplating what was about to come next.

'Somebody needs to change the nappy,' Barry said.

'Diaper,' Sully corrected automatically, his brain freewheeling while the horrors of diaper-changing plagued his thoughts.

Miguel held up a bag printed with rubber duckies, 'Elena said all the stuff we'll need is in here,' he said.

Barry eyed the bag, 'Are you sure? It doesn't look big enough for a Hazmat suit.'

'Who said 'we'?' Sully grumbled, 'I am _not_ changing the diaper. End of story.'

Miguel looked at Barry.

'Rock, paper, scissors?' Miguel wondered out loud.

Barry took another sniff and gulped.

'Sure.'

…

Chloe let the car come to a stop. She turned the ignition off, removed the key and sat. Well, she had certainly got here in time. Now what? Knock on the door? How would she even phrase the things she wanted to say?

What if he wasn't there? What if was and didn't want to see her?

She caught her face in the wing mirror; a dishevelled woman stared gloomily back.

Chloe dropped her head to the steering wheel with a dull thud.

It shouldn't be this hard, she thought flatly. All she had to do was get out the car, march up to the front door and knock. For some reason this just made Chloe feel physically ill.

She cursed herself; surely she was made of stronger stuff than this. With a grunt she wrenched the car door open and stepped shakily out of the vehicle.

The house she had parked opposite was large. The front garden grass was impossibly green and strewn across it were various children's toys. There were colourful balloons tied to the picket fence gate.

It definitely wasn't the wrong house.

The early evening air was warm as Chloe settled against the bonnet of the car. She could hear the sounds of laughter and voices from the backyard. One of them would be Ted's.

Chloe put her hands in her pockets and waited. She had flown all the way here, got all the way up to the bloody house and couldn't even find that extra lump of courage that would propel her to the door. She was pathetic.

But she _was _here.

…

Elena watched the waiter depart with their menus. Nate watched and noticing her preoccupied expression asked what was wrong.

'Oh, nothing really' she replied, 'I'm just worried about the baby.'

Nate was relieved it was only that and nothing else. 'Don't worry about it. They'll be fine. They're probably just watching the game. You can ring them if you want but I'm sure they'll tell you the same thing I did.'

Elena wished she had Nate's confidence.

'Do you think I should have told them about the washing machine?' she wondered. Nate laughed.

'I think it's ok; I can't see Sully or Miguel using a washing machine. They probably don't even know they exist,' he said reassuringly.

Nate was right, Elena thought. She had to stop worrying. Everything was going to be fine.

All she had to do was relax but no matter what she did she couldn't quite shake off the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong.

She was right but it wouldn't be until dessert that she found out what it was.

…

Barry stood back from his handiwork.

Miguel and Barry had moved to kitchen to use the wide expanse of the dining table – a make-shift operating table for a fairly complicated prodedure...to Barry's mind anyway.

It hadn't actually been all that bad, Barry thought as he snapped off the rubber gloves he had found. They went straight into the bin. Once you had removed the doo doo it was pretty smooth sailing.

'Uh oh.'

Barry turned to Miguel who was staring at something on the formerly pristine table cloth.

'Don't tell me,' Barry muttered at the stain, 'It's doo doo.'

It was only a smudge but they could hardly leave it there.

'Maybe it will be ok, maybe they will think its chocolate,' Miguel reasoned.

Barry shook his head at the other man, 'Anyone with a working nose would know that isn't chocolate.'

Before Barry could make a sensible suggestion, Sully walked into the room. He wrinkled his nose.

'What's taking you so long? Goddamn! Why is there doodoo on the tablecloth?' Sully barely paused between his sentences.

Barry explained, 'It just sort of escaped.'

Sully was silent and Barry evaluated what he had just said.

'Ok, maybe I wasn't being careful…'

Sully grunted and looked at the clock. They had plenty of time.

'Right,' he said, taking charge, 'we'll put it in the washing machine…if we put it on a quick wash it should be done before Nate and Elena get back.'

'Wow,' Barry said, 'I wasn't even aware you knew what a washing machine was let alone the 'quick wash' option.'

'Shut up,' Sully replied.

While Barry looked indignant, Miguel grabbed the cloth and bundled it into the washer. He twiddled a dial and filled the soap drawer.

Sully watched him with eagle eyes, 'Don't put too much in! I know you. You'd put half the box in and be confused when the damn machine blows up.'

Barry wondered why Sully was being so grumpy but he too was watching Miguel carefully. If any one of them were to mess up it would probably be Miguel.

Both men silently sighed with relief when Miguel shut the door and turned the machine on.

So far no slip-ups.

So they were both rather surprised when the back of the washing machine began to smoke.

…

Elena picked up on the second ring. She was pretty sure Nate had just sworn when the phone had begun to vibrate. She had been in half a mind to ignore the call but when she saw that it was from Sully her decision was all but made for her.

If her son was hurt…

She was faintly surprised to hear Barry's voice on the other end but she didn't question it when the words he was speaking registered.

'The. House. Is. On. Fire?' Elena said the words slowly but loudly enough for Nate to hear.

Without blinking he threw down some money, scraped his chair back with a horrendous screech and legged it to the car. Elena was following close behind.

…

Ted was lying on the grass as the evening drew on. The air was still warm; it would probably be hard to sleep later.

His stomach gurgled. Too much ice-cream. Ted never thought that you could have too much ice-cream. He was put off a bit when his sister told him he was being a woman. Apparently only women carried around that aura of depression and cravings for dessert that he was expressing.

His sinking mood was interrupted when Emily came over and sat on his stomach.

'There's a woman standing outside the house,' she said conversationally.

Ted lifted his arm away from his face so he could squint at his niece.

'Why?' Ted asked.

Emily gave him a long-suffering look, 'I don't know.'

'What does she look like?'

Emily tapped her chin thoughtfully, 'Mommy said she looked like an Australian.'

Ted's heart stopped for a moment and then his brain kicked in.

'How does someone_ look_ Australian?' he said hoarsely. It couldn't be. Ted tried to school his thoughts. He was letting his mind get the better of him.

Emily gave him another look, 'I don't know, Uncle Ted. But if she is from Australia…doesn't that mean she has a kangaroo? I like kangaroos.'

Ted sat up and tried not to get caught up in thoughts about kangaroos. Emily shifted in his lap but then Pete picked her up and slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

'Time for birthday cake. In the kitchen, kids,' Pete said and every child stood as one and stampeded towards the French doors that led inside.

Ted grimaced when he realised he too wanted cake enough to run for it. He_ was_ being a woman.

'Emily wasn't joking,' Pete said once he had put down his daughter so she could follow her friends.

Ted gave his brother-in-law a wry look.

'Ok, I'm not sure about the Australian part, I think that's just your sister getting carried away, but there is definitely a woman standing opposite the house. She's been leaning against her car for over an hour,' Pete added.

Ted was going to laugh it off when he suddenly remembered. He stumbled upon the thought. Months old but now fresh in his mind once again.

…_one day in the future…when his niece wouldn't scream when she saw his face or maybe when Nate finally grew a set and proposed to Elena…_

He swore. No way. It was just coincidence surely.

Even so, it took Ted a while to realise his feet were carrying him through the house and towards the front door.

…

Chloe gave a start when she heard a front door open.

One part of her wanted to jump into the car and take-off at the speed of the light. The other wanted to find Ted and apologise ten times over for hurting him. Fear took precedence however and rooted her to the spot.

Chloe would have cursed her cowardice but then Ted appeared at the porch.

He looked the same she thought. Chloe did curse herself just then. Christ, it had only been a few months. Of course he was going to look the same. What the heck was wrong with her? Ted was messing with her common sense again and he hadn't even said one word.

Ted walked towards her, taking the porch steps slowly. No, Chloe thought, not exactly the same. Brown hair a little longer. Kind eyes framed by a few more lines.

Chloe didn't know how long she stood there. Minutes or seconds. Chloe guessed that even if she had been given a day to prepare she still wouldn't know what to say when Ted reached her.

'How long were you planning on staying out here?' Ted asked, coming to a stop not a foot from her.

'I honestly don't know,' Chloe said truthfully. It felt good to hear his voice. Now that she was actually talking to him, Chloe realised there was so much she wanted to say. None of it very coherent and some of it probably contradictory. She should probably start by apologising. Yes, that seemed like a good place to start.

'You want some birthday cake?'

…

From the startled look Chloe had just given him, Ted got the feeling he had just said the wrong thing but he wanted Chloe to stay. Offering cake had seemed like a good thing to do.

It was surreal. What were the chances that he'd step out that door to find Chloe? How had she even known he was here? Ted guessed that Elena or Nate may have had a hand in that part but still. Chloe was here and he wasn't about to let her go. He had been given a chance and it wasn't going to be wasted.

'Huh? Uh, sure…wait…I need to say stuff first,' Chloe managed a recovery.

Ted fell silent. He would hear what she had to say and if he didn't like it he would just have to change her mind…somehow.

Chloe looked at him for a moment as if trying to build courage. Her hands fisted at her sides. It was almost as if she was gearing up for battle.

Ted put his hands on her arms, he wasn't sure why he did it, maybe for comfort but Chloe didn't seem too impressed.

She jerked out of his grip.

…

'Don't touch me,' Chloe muttered. Since there was a car behind her and Ted in front there wasn't really anywhere to go but she managed to remove Ted's hands from her arms.

Ted looked visibly alarmed. He shouldn't be, damn him. She was trying to apologise. She was trying to make things right.

Him touching her made it a lot harder. She needed a clear mind. But his hands…they were warm...

When his skin had brushed hers, Chloe found her thinking processes moving somewhere else completely. Somewhere unsuitable for the tiny faces she could see pressed up against the windows of Ted's sister's house.

Chloe was faintly disgusted with herself. She didn't just turn to mush when nice looking men touched her arms. She was made from sterner stuff than this. She had to stop acting like hormonal teenager.

'Ted, I'm sorry.'

Ted looked shocked; probably because he was unused to hearing her apologise. Chloe didn't blame him. She hated to admit she was wrong.

'You don't have to-,' Ted began but Chloe cut him off.

'No, I do. I do,' Chloe looked at Ted and felt the resistance build as the words left her tongue, 'Back in Turkey, I made some…bad decisions. It's no excuse, I know but I was confused as to what I wanted. To be honest, I _still _don't know what I want but I do know that I want you to be in there somewhere…or something like that.'

Chloe sighed. She really wasn't cut out for emotional heart-to-hearts.

'Am I allowed to touch you yet?' Ted asked.

'What? Oh, I guess so. I said what I wanted to,' Chloe mumbled but didn't get to say anymore before Ted closed the gap between them and enveloped her in his arms.

…

As he was holding Chloe, Ted mused that this was better than a dream.

Chloe actually wanted him back. Even brought up the courage to say things that could be considered 'soppy'.

For a moment there, when she had first apologised, Ted had thought she was going to say it was over - cut off all ties and dash his hopeful feelings across the warmed tarmac of the road.

'Um, Ted?' Chloe's voice sounded muffled.

'Hmmm?'

'This is nice and all and I missed you too but I do need to breathe at some point,' Chloe said dryly.

Ted let up on his grip and Chloe glowered at him.

'You still love me? Even after I broke your heart?' she asked after she had calmed down some.

When Ted had thought about this before, when he had been so close to picking up the phone and ringing Chloe, the words he had prepared would have been delivered with perfectly honed rage. Now that he was actually here, face-to face with the woman he couldn't even bring out one angry word. Yes, Chloe had hurt him but his desire for them to be together again outweighed his anger ten-fold.

Ted held her gaze, 'At the risk of sounding cheesy, I never stopped.'

…

It took considerable effort to tamp down the burst of joy that coursed her system when Ted spoke. She had tried to prepare for the worst. What she had done to Ted was cruel. She hadn't expected to be forgiven so easily. Chloe realised how lucky she was.

She had someone who loved her even after she had acted as selfishly as she did.

While enjoying the feeling, Chloe felt her gaze drawn to the windows. Dozens of children were staring at them. It was more than a little unnerving. Their mouths moved soundlessly as they commented on what they were witnessing.

Chloe frowned.

'So who are Ginny and Belle?'

Ted leant back, his brow furrowed in confusion.

'What? Who?'

Chloe gestured behind her where Ted spotted his niece and the boy from earlier chatting away.

'Umm…made up people,' Ted said before Chloe could get any more jealous.

'Right,' Chloe said disbelievingly.

'No, seriously…all the kids thought I was Harry Potter till my niece pointed out that I didn't have a girlfriend called Ginny and then she said that I was the Beast from Beauty and the Beast and that I would find a Belle one day too.'

Chloe almost smiled and patted his scarred face, 'Beast, indeed,' she murmured.

Ted was grinning, 'Beast I may be but you're no Belle.'

Chloe frowned at him, 'Why not?'

'Well, I doubt Belle ever packed heat while confessing her love,' Ted admonished lightly.

Chloe had to give him a point, there _was_ a gun tucked into her waistband. She was so used to having a weapon on her; she'd feel naked without one. Maybe it was a sad thing she had to carry one around all the time.

'Well, I never did want to be a Disney princess,' Chloe muttered but removed the weapon and dropped it through the open window of the car door.

'Uh, now that we're all happy happy good good…I get a kiss, right?' Ted asked.

Chloe gave him a sour look, 'If you think I'm going to kiss you in front of a bunch of five year olds, you've got another thing coming.'

Ted was unperturbed, 'Fine then, _I'll _do the kissing.'

And when he did and Chloe felt her back hit the side of the car, she felt like she should have resisted more but what did it matter? The kids would be fine. Given 'em ten years and they'd be doing the same thing.

While a dozen children made gross-out faces at the window, Chloe mused that this had gone better than she could ever had hoped.

It was true that they hadn't talked about the future. They hadn't talked about the things that would have to be given up. Chloe supposed that when the time did come there would more arguments and hasty words but she was certain of one thing.

She would never leave Ted again.

…

Elena and Nate stood on the pavement opposite their house.

Smoke billowed thickly from the back of the building but the rest was, thankfully, unscathed.

A group of fire-fighters wrestled with their hose, no longer in use.

So the whole house hadn't been on fire. It had just been the kitchen. Elena was taking it rather well, Nate thought. He thought she would have been livid but she had just stood there calmly as Sully detailed what had happened while they had been at dinner.

Miguel was the first to speak after that, 'I swear, it wasn't my fault. I actually used the washing machine properly. Barry and Sully saw.'

They were all standing outside, watching the fire-fighters clear their equipment away.

Elena shook her head, 'It's ok. The thing was broken anyway. I should have told you guys not to use it.'

In truth she had only been bothered about the baby. As soon as the others had assured her that the baby was fine, Elena was already thinking of new tiles. The kitchen needed doing anyway. She could almost see the granite worktops and stainless steel sink unit.

Sully muttered something about how in his day washing machines did not catch fire.

Barry rolled his eyes and replied that this was the case because a washing machine in his time was a woman with soapy water and people weren't known to spontaneously combust.

Nate's mouth quirked in smile. He shouldn't find this funny but he couldn't help himself.

It seemed like he really couldn't propose to Elena. No matter what precautions he took he just couldn't do it. Maybe it wasn't meant to be.

At that moment a tired looking fire-woman trudged past, coiling the rest of the winding hose. Sully's head moved as she did.

'Are you alright?' Barry asked when he noticed that the older man's mouth was hanging open.

Sully blinked as he came back to the here and now. 'Nate! Nate, look at this. You get _female _fire-fighters! When did that happen? Oh boy, this is gonna be good.'

Without saying another word Sully stalked off after the woman.

Barry and Miguel tagged along. More to save the harassed looking fire-fighter than anything else.

Elena shifted her grip on the baby and sighed. 'I don't think I'll ever understand that man.'

Nate watched Sully chase the firewoman, 'He is unique. I'll give you that.'

There was an amiable silence. Nate fingered the ring-box in his trouser pocket. Sully got a slap in the face.

Without turning to look at Elena, Nate spoke. 'I was going to propose tonight.'

Elena smiled still watching Sully who was sporting a wounded look, 'I had a feeling.'

This time Nate did turn to look at her, 'Really? I thought I was being really secretive. Did someone tell you? I bet it was Chloe.'

'No, it wasn't Chloe,' Elena laughed, 'you weren't that smooth. Going out to dinner? Nate we haven't gone out to dinner in months and you were pretty determined.'

'I didn't know what else to do. I've had the ring for months. Whenever I tried to ask, something would go wrong or we'd get interrupted. I just wanted it to be special,' Nate scuffed the floor with a shoe.

'I think that the fact you even wanted to get married is pretty special,' Elena said quietly, 'You know, it got to the point where I didn't even care how you asked, just that you would.'

Nate blinked. His thoughts were surprisingly uncluttered as he bent down on one knee, arms outstretched with that tiny box in his hands. His voice didn't shake or falter.

'Well, I'm asking now. What do you say? Elena Fisher, will you marry me?'

...

Elena was faintly aware of how all movement had stopped.

Sully held a hand to his slapped cheek, watching silently. The firewoman beside him held the hose loosely in her hands, her eyes drawn to Nate's bent knees and extended arms.

Barry, Miguel and the other firemen paused too.

It was a strange freeze-frame and not quite the one Elena had expected or wanted when it finally came to this moment. They were dressed for it, no doubt, but a burning house wasn't what she had in mind for a romantic backdrop.

Elena wondered how she had ever expected to be proposed to normally. Whenever she and Nate tried to be a regular couple things failed miserable. The first time they visited her parents came to mind. And now that it was actually happening she couldn't actually believe it. Hadn't it been her dream as a little girl? To be proposed to by a man who bent down on one knee and held out a diamond ring?

For all her talk of just being fine with Nate just mentioning marriage, Elena was surprised to find that she was filled with a warm glow. Marriage wouldn't change much in her life except for her name but it was still enough to make her heart thump a little harder. If she wasn't careful, there could be tears.

It occurred to Elena that she still had to answer.

Nate was looking at her with such a mixture of apprehension and hope that Elena realised that he thought she might say no. The man truly had no brains when it came to these things.

After waiting all those years, Elena finally found herself saying those words that she had often dreamt about.

'Yes, I will marry you.'

* * *

**The end…finally…  
**

**Sorry for the abrupt ending...  
**

**I'm not sure five year olds even know what Harry Potter is but it doesn't matter lol…one of the fews thing I can do in a kitchen is fry an onion...very easy...not really great as a meal...I'm also a sucker for cake...I never wanted to be a Disney Princess...probably because there wasn't much choice in terms of brown people...just Jasmine...I wanted to be a Power Ranger...  
**

**This has also turned out to be longer than most of the chapters I have written lol…pretty sure epilogues are meant to be short and sweet…once again I let myself go with this…I could have been more direct…should have been but oh well…It's not really how I imagined it going either…in my mind it was going to be full of intense emotion but it seems that I just can't write that sort of stuff lol…I have to make do with doo doo and washing machine problems…this was meant to be a lot more serious…it turned out to be a massive build-up and then a very _very_ short conclusion lol…**

**I also had a lot of extra stuff that I wanted to put in there…Ted's sister getting in the way and more about Elena and Nate but then I realised that this had been dragging for a while lol  
**

**I also avoided giving the baby a name…sorry**

**I hope the next Uncharted game improves on the third…since the ps3 broke and I realised I would have to play the third game again I've realised that I'm not looking forward to it…I would have played the first and second one over and over but this one I wasn't so bothered with…it's still really good and I'm not sure there was anything to improve on…maybe it was because its short or something…or maybe there is something wrong with me…that's probably it…  
**

**Did anyone else find this?  
**

**Ok…sorry this story took so long to finish...I have made mistakes and probably dissappointed but you guys are awesome for sticking it out  
**

**Thanks for reading, reviewing and being patient with my bad updating…and if any of you still have those fatty ps3s make sure you back up your data lol **

**Till next time,**

**Glockenspiel (Rhea)**

**Message me for fun if you want...I like hearing people's thoughts on Uncharted and other things...sounds like a desperate plea for friends lol...  
**

**I'll add this because it just happened...my family were just about to watch Hanna when my dad asked what it was about...my mum replied that it's about a girl who is a spy and my dad was like...What? A girl can't be a spy!  
...that was nearly as bad as Sully and the fire woman  
**


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